Windows 10 Devices Live Event - Recap

Published: October 6, 2015 1:43 PM /

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Windows 10 Event

It's been 10 weeks since Windows 10 and 110 million devices are now running windows 10. It's explained that there have been 650 billion pages viewed on Edge, Xbox One gamers have streamed over 120 years worth of gameplay and Cortana has been asked over a billion questions. More than 1.25 Billion app store visits has led to developer revenue multiply by 4 times. People are now using apps for services like Netflix as opposed to using the website and companies like Facebook will be building universal apps for all Windows 10 platforms. 

Xbox is touched on briefly at the beginning of the event. This Holiday all Xbox One's will be upgraded to Windows 10 and with that they will get access to Xbox 360 games on Xbox One. A brief plug is done for all of the holiday deals as well as the new controller before a new Xbox One trailer is shown.

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After Xbox One, Hololens is brought to focus. Hololens will give you an experience that is not possible on any other device or platform. Today they showed off Project XRAY. There your room gets turned into a video game level. Project XRAY, using a handheld device, allows you to have a wearable hologram on your arm. Once aliens start showing up you are able to use your wearable hologram to shoot them. After the preview it is highlighted that HoloLens is completely untethered and that applications for the hololens development kit are now open. It will be available in Q1 2016 for $3,000.

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Microsoft Band is up next on the order as a new iteration of Band is announced. Lindsey Matese takes to the stage to explain what is new for Microsoft Band now. Customer feedback has been listened to in order to make the newest iteration of Microsoft Band. The new band has a new design that is thinner, flexible in all directions, and has a new curved screen. All features from the original band are returning for the new version. A new feature that is being added is a Barometer for users who asked to track elevation while they are working out. The band can also sync with Microsoft Health on any other Windows 10 device so that you can see all the data as soon as you need it.

For golf the band can track which shot you're taking whether it be a different club or even if you're taking practice swings. Other information it can generate is what tee you're at so when you're at the end of a hole your Band will create your score sheet. There are also plenty of new partnerships such as UBER and Facebook so everything is always one touch away. The preorder for the new Microsoft Band is available today and will be available October 30th for $249. 

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After Microsoft Band it's the Lumia and Surface's turn to get some spotlight. Surface sales have more than doubled in the last year and Microsoft wants the same for the Lumia. Panos Panay then takes to the stage to talk about all that is coming for Windows 10 devices. The first new Lumias phone announced is the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. There are two new antennas in the 950's so that no matter where you are holding it you get the best signal. New octocore and hexacore qualcomm processors are being used in the XL and 950 respectively. The 950/950XL will also have liquid cooling so they can do as much as possible without overheating. Both of these phones will also come with the 20MP camera with triple LED for natural flash. Optical stabilization will also be implemented so you don't need to worry about ruining a photo again. Like with all the other Lumia phones the 950 and 950 XL will also have a dedicated camera button so you can record in 4K. The 950 will have 32GB storage and then even put in a SD card for more storage. USB-C will be used for the charger, this is a faster connector that will charge your phone to over 50% in 30 minutes. 

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Windows Hello is shown off on Windows Phone 10 where Brian Roper shows he can sign in by just having his phone see his face. Using the Microsoft Display Dock you can plug your Lumia into a block that you can also plug a display device, mouse and keyboard into. Using Continuum you are able to use full Windows 10 apps including Outlook, Microsoft Word, and Powerpoint on a desktop interface. Roper shows off that while using Continuum he is still able to access his phone, he is even able to pull apps across from desktop to phone. All regular Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts will be usable in Continuum mode. Using the Display Dock you can also use USB drives to copy files to and from your phone.

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Now finally moving onto the Surface line. Panay is back on the stage talking about how the Surface. With this the new Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is announced and shown off in a trailer. The screen is .3 inches larger but the device itself isn't larger. The new surface pen will have a tail eraser and a new tip with 1024 levels of sensitivity. This sensitivity gives you the same sense of ink coming out of a pen, press harder and more will come out. It will also have an all year battery, so that you don't break your creative flow to have to charge it. This new pen will give you new features for OneNote and calling up Cortana. There will be 5 different colors so you can personalise your pen and interchangeable tips for different features you would want. To compare speeds the Surface Pro is said to be 50% faster than the Macbook Air. 

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There will be a Surface Pro Docking Station that will work with the Pro 3 and Pro 4. It will give you ethernet, four USB 3.0 and two 4K display out. Another new product is the new Type Cover, this will be lighter and thinner than the previous iteration. This new cover will also be compatible with the Pro 3. The new Type Cover will also come in 5 different colors. There will also be a fingerprint reader in the cover for Pro 3 users. The Surface Pro 4 will start at $899 and will be available October 26th and preorders start tomorrow.

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The next announcement for the Windows 10 event is the Microsoft Surface Book, the first laptop built by Microsoft. 13.5" diagonal with 6 million pixels. The keyboard will have back-lit keys and the machine will remain silent. It will have a Glass track pad with 5 point multi-touch that your finger will glide across. Will a fully functional laptop GPU you will be able to do things the surface hasn't been able to do in the past. With a specially designed hinge on the Surface Book you will also be able to fold it over so that it can become a tablet. The Surface part of the Surface Book is also able to be released so that you can use it as a tablet alone. 

That wraps up the Windows 10 Live Event and with that we can look forward to with the future of Microsoft.

What were the highlights of the press conference for you? Is there anything that you wish was announced that wasn't? 

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Andrew Stretch Headshot
| Senior Content Manager

Andrew has written Video Game and Entertainment news, reviews, and guides for 10+ years. As Senior Content Manager, he assists in creating and editing… More about Andrew