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Microsoft Windows 10X reportedly paused to focus on Windows 10 enhancements

The ill-fated Surface Neo running Windows 10X

A report suggests that Microsoft will not release Windows 10X in 2021, and the version originally shared "will likely never arrive."

Announced in 2019, Windows 10X was meant to be the next step in Windows design that ditched legacy components in favor of new technologies. The ambitious project was soon delayed and now may never see the light of day.

According to a report from Petri, people familiar with the Microsoft's plans state Windows 10X will not ship in 2021, and the OS as you know it today will likely never arrive. Microsoft has shifted its resources to improving Windows 10 and pushed the other project to the back burner.

Microsoft announced Windows 10X alongside the Surface Duo and Surface Neo — dual screen devices that showcased the future of Windows. The Duo shipped in 2020 with Android as planned — and the Neo was never released.

Windows Central confirms the report and says that Microsoft had in fact halted Windows 10X internal self host testing in February. All focus has shifted to Microsoft's "Sun Valley" Windows 10 UI refresh due later in 2021.

Sun Valley reportedly incorporates many of the enhancements that were promised in Windows 10X. Development of the new OS has halted, and there is no indication of if or when it will resume.

Apple, however, has had more luck rejuvenating its desktop operating system for modern hardware. It released macOS Big Sur with design paradigms that closely mimicked iOS and iPadOS in an effort to showcase its transition to Apple Silicon.

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