Microsoft Prepping Huge Reveal of Windows 10 Devices
is moving on to its next big announcement. The company said today that it's planning an event centered on Windows 10 devices for early next month.
Noting only that it has "some exciting news to share about Windows 10 devices," Microsoft said it will reveal more in a live stream online event starting at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, October 6. Streaming will also be available on Xbox devices.
In an e-mail, a Microsoft spokesperson told us that CEO Satya Nadella will be speaking during the event. She added that more information about the rest of the executive lineup will be released in the near future.
VR and Wearable Devices Included?
Among some of the much-anticipated devices that might be highlighted during next month's event are the giant, touch-control Surface Hub designed for enterprise conferencing and collaboration and the HoloLens augmented reality headset, which was first unveiled in April at the annual Microsoft Build conference.
Other devices Microsoft is expected to release soon include the Lumia 940 and Lumia 1030 smartphones, along with the Surface Pro 4 tablet and the Microsoft Band 2 fitness wearable.
A raft of Windows 10-optimized devices are also expected to be coming from Microsoft partners, some of which unveiled their latest releases during the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin earlier this month. They include an ultra-thin, pen-capable tablet from Toshiba, the Asus Zen AiO S all-in-one PC, Panasonic's Toughpad FZ-M1 and new devices from Dell, HP and Lenovo. Acer also unveiled two new Windows 10 smartphones at IFA.
"Windows 10 PCs, tablets, phones and IoT devices running Microsoft and partner apps and services will help people be more productive in their digital work and life," Nick Parker, corporate vice president of the OEM division at Microsoft, said in a blog post earlier this month. He also noted that more than 75 million devices were already using Windows 10. "We look forward to sharing many more cool devices as we head into the holiday season," he added.
Windows 10 Device 'Stimulus'
While the global market for tablets has been declining recently, the German consumer market research firm GfK issued a report earlier this month indicating that the release of Windows 10 "promises to stimulate positively the computer market."
Windows 10 is now installed on 5.21 percent of all desktop devices, according to the latest figures from Net Market Share. Windows 10 Mobile has not yet been released, but is expected to come out sometime this month or in October.
It's possible the release of Windows 10 Mobile could give a fresh boost to sales of Windows 10 smartphones, which lag in a market dominated by Android and iOS devices. Likewise, news about a consumer release for HoloLens could help spur the next wave of growth in virtual reality devices, a market also being targeted by Facebook and its 2014 acquisition Oculus.