Windows 10X is coming down. The RTM will move to manufacturers in a few weeks and it is likely that in spring the first equipment arrives on the market, both the folding for which this system was originally conceived, as well as the basic laptops to which Microsoft has expanded its reach to stop the growth of Chromebooks.
As you know, Windows 10X is a variant of the general system, but already framed in the Windows Core OS project that should be the future of Windows. Last week we reviewed the latest version and some of the new features such as the start menu, the task bar, the system settings, the privacy section or the startup animation. It looks good, although the thorny issue of running Win32 applications remains to be resolved.
Windows 10X on Windows 10
As you know, Windows 10X is not a replacement for Windows 10, but a specific parallel version for specific market niches, especially basic and folding notebooks. Obviously the two versions are connected and some of the novelties of the first one will be totally or partially transferred to the general version of the system.
The clearest example so far has been the start menu. The development for the 10X was moved (in the main) to the latest version 20H2 and the result has been positive. It is cleaner, more modern, attractive, integrated with the rest of the interface under the Fluent Design language that Microsoft is using throughout the system, with a uniform and partially transparent background for the tiles and with the possibility of disabling the “Live Tiles” .
The strategy of moving certain components will be repeated in the next stable versions and as an example we have the new Windows 10X boot animation. The well-known hacker NTDEV You have managed to discover the registry key that unlocks this animation on Insiders versions of Windows 10.
Look, I’m on the news đŸ™‚ https://t.co/aDmGtVDzmz
– NTDEV (@NTDEV_) January 21, 2021
It works with the versions that have the build number 20279 and 21292 creating the following key:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlBootControl]
"BootProgressAnimation"=dword:00000001
If you want to try it, you can manually create that key in the registry. Or download a .reg registry file that the author has published and run it. At the moment it only works in the latest Insiders trial versions, although it is certain that it will end up reaching the stable versions.
In related information, we have also seen Windows 10X running on a 2-in-1 Surface Pro 7 and with almost all drivers working properly. It is logical for its connection and kernel base, but it must be repeated, Windows 10X is a special version that will not replace Windows 10. If you want to try it on any PC-Win you can follow this tutorial with the official method, virtualized with Hyper-V and using an emulator and official compilations.
