MS to "merge" Intel and ARM devices in Pro 9 model line

WOA/ARM requires an external controller chip for Thunderbolt which is what Apple is currently doing,

Giving Qualcomm’s strong preference for SOC designs, and the fact that they would have to license it from Intel, I’m reasonably sure that the Pro 9 5g won’t have thunderbolt, though it will have at least USB 3.2, and possibly might even get 4.0

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Cool, one more thing that used to be ARM-native that’s going away.

The now ‘legacy’ Photos app had video editing built in and was ARM(32)-native. The new Photos app (which is still ARM64 itself) removes the video editing and points you to Clipchamp. Clipchamp is x86 emulation. :man_facepalming:

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Not related to the WOA fiasco, but “Clipchamp” has got to be the most crapware sounding first-party product in a while. It sounds about as official as Candy Crush.

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You kid, but…

Now, it makes total sense! :exploding_head:

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Ted found the new logo for Windows 12!

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Funny that when I see “surprise” entries in the FCC filings for the surface lineup I keep thinking of this video of the most DISAPPOINTING vaporware ever…and I’ve been “into” computing since 1984…

This could get even me into WOA if that’s what it took to get it released…

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FWIW, we hear in the rumor mill this morning that the forthcoming MS event “is going to have a major surprise, with a brand new device”.

Of course, no detail on that, however one of our developers noticed last week some MS commits to Android that don’t fit any existing devices.

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If a dedicated group of nerds can do this on their own with the Duo 1, why hasn’t MS unleashed the skunkworks team on WOA for Duo 3?

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Probably part of the licensing agreement with Qualcomm which apparently is very strict with what they will allow WOA officially to run on.

We have been turned own multiple times for a WOA version of one of our custom devices because we wanted to use an Exynos chipset (due to it’s lower power consumption) instead of Qualcomm chipsets

What a shame. MS is missing a golden opportunity here, but I also have read/heard they are banking on a “Windows launcher customization” for 12L that will look a LOT like Windows 11, and “act” like Windows 11. Still, full WOA on a SD3 could be a real tablet game changer…

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Possible. There is a lot of UI code in 12l that to date no one has actually used, including what our Android developer thinks might be posture detection. I.E. different UI for multiple postures (still hate that term BTW)

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Could this be the Volterra desktop WOA device?

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No that’s already available as a development device. We even have one in house. I suppose they could release a version for the general public, but I can’t see the point as the Surface line is focused on portables with the exception of the current surface large desktop AIO

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I like Ars’ byline: “There’s not a single Surface model with a current-gen processor in it.”

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I liked this comment which is sadly completely accurate:

As per usual with the Surface line, launch date is within a few weeks of Intel launching a new generation of CPUs that will not be used in it (…)

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Why try anyway if it’s going to be Android-powered. We don’t need another Android device.
We want a reworked Neo!

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I’ve said this before but I think it might be an interesting idea if Microsoft had an Android phone that would boot into a “Windows subsystem” and run ARM Windows when docked. At least then the ARM version would have a reason to exist (since it’s running on your phone). But I don’t expect whatever new device it is to be that anyway, so it’s moot.

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Another possible factor, and there were a lot of rumors about it pre pandemic, that MS was readying a single screen Surface Phone.

FWIW in some of our customers there would be interest in that they like the software optimizations to Android MS made on the Duo, as well as the expectation that since it was a Surface it would work with the same management tools that they currently use to manage their Surface devices.

Does that translate to enough to release a product? I have no clue.

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I’m thinking we will see a Surface Duo Trois since MS has started to discount the 2 with 65 000 yen. Aggressively too.

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