Microsoft Build 2018: What to Expect

Microsoft has already shown much of its hand with this week's drop of Windows 10 April 2018 Update. The update is already widely available, but will start rolling out automatically to the 700 million Windows 10 users today, which is also the first day of Redmond's Build 2018 developers conference.

The updated Windows 10 sports plenty of new capabilities, including the much-anticipated Timeline feature, Nearby Sharing, and Focus Assist for quelling endless notifications.

But the massive tech firm is sure to have plenty more up its sleeve. Microsoft has been emphasizing the cloud and artificial intelligence, something CEO Satya Nadella, who will keynote at the conference, has repeatedly stated. Its forte of late has been its cloud services, a profitable direction for the company.

Windows and Xbox fans can expect some bones tossed their way. Here's a rundown of possible announcements at Build 2018.

More Azure

Microsoft's cloud AI play, Azure, is sure to be discussed by this year's panelists and keynoters, and we'll probably hear new Microsoft Cloud user numbers. Azure encompasses a large group of services, including databases, containers, AI services, and APIs. At Build 2017, Microsoft touted edge computing—in which AI computing can happen on the local device when the cloud isn't available—as a complement to cloud services. We're likely to hear more about both this week.

More Open Source

At last year's Build, Microsoft open sourced its Azure Cosmos DB, Visual Studio for Mac, and added support for Linux Bash inside Windows 10. A quick look at github.com/microsoft shows an enormous amount of code the company has put out into the open-source world, and that trend is likely to continue.

New Names for Things

Microsoft loves renaming things. Most recently, we heard that Windows Defender will become Windows Security in upcoming versions of its OS. Previously, the Windows Store became the Microsoft Store, Xbox Music became Groove Music, and don't even get me started about Sync, SkyDrive, and finally OneDrive. I wouldn't be surprised at all to hear about new names for existing products at Build 2018.

More Android, iOS Integration With Windows

A huge theme at last year's Build was leveraging Windows and Microsoft's cloud services to create synergy with mobile devices. Key deliverables to that end were the Continue on PC functionality, which let you continue viewing a webpage or using certain apps from mobile to PC. The Edge and Cortana apps for Android and iOS, as well as the Microsoft Launcher for Android, provide a good deal of the cross-platform functionality. We could also see more use of the Microsoft Authenticator app, which will help users ditch passwords for authentication of apps and services.

Office Updates

Another recent pre-Build unveiling was the Office 2019 Preview. According to Jared Spataro, General Manager for Office, "Updates include new and improved inking features across the apps, like the roaming pencil case, pressure sensitivity, and tilt effects; more powerful data analysis in Excel, like new formulas, new charts, and Power BI integration; and sophisticated presentation features in PowerPoint, like Morph and Zoom."

A full list of new features appears on this Office FAQ page. It's only available to commercial customers as of this writing, but will perhaps go out to a more general audience during Build. We'll also continue to hear about the Microsoft Graph, a big theme from last year's conference, and data on Office 365 and Bing.

More Fluent Design

The April 2018 Update of Windows 10 extended the Fluent Design language to the Start Menu, Settings app, the Edge web browser, and more. There's no reason not to expect even more Fluent design announcements. One Fluent aspect I haven't seen much of is the soft focus for background objects, which lets you concentrate on the task at hand. It's a great development, making the OS much easier on the eyes and making tasks clearer.

More About Progressive Web Apps

Progressive web apps combine mobile app and website funtionality. For Microsoft, I suppose progressive web app support is a way to try to get more apps in the Microsoft Store, and we'll likely hear more about them at Build. Last week, for example, Twitter announced that its Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app is now a progressive web app. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the concept, which has already been tested with mixed success on Chrome apps; it's really just websites with things like persistent storage.

Xbox and PC Gaming

In continuing our theme, Microsoft has already updated some gaming features in Windows 10 April 2018 Update, particularly in the redesigned Game Bar and Focus Assist while gaming option. Hopefully we'll see more Play Anywhere Games in the Microsoft Store, as the number hasn't budged in a while. We're likely to see more Mixed Reality headset developments, as well.

New Hardware? Not Likely

If anything, we may see some movement in the HoloLens space. The device has been used successfully in industry, medicine, and education. And consumers can take advantage of lower-cost Mixed Reality headsets like those from Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung. If we're lucky, we may hear about even more and better MR devices coming along.

Wildcards

Of course you've noticed that most of these elements are "More" something or other. But it wouldn't be much of a show if Microsoft didn't surprise us with something cool and unexpected. At least some fun new app or capabilities. More than once, the company has taken everyone by surprise with something completely unexpected. Think HoloLens or the original Surface Pro. To find out, keep an eye on PCMag.com, and watch things unfold for yourself on Microsoft's Build 2018 live stream.

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