Last Thursday we dedicated a few words to the rumor of Windows 10 Cloud, a new variant of the operating system designed to compete with Chromebooks in the low-cost market. A striking aspect of Windows 10 Cloud is that it supposedly offers compatibility with apps downloaded from the store, blocking the execution of traditional software. In recent hours, an Insider build of Windows 10 Cloud leaked online... and it is everything we anticipated.
Microsoft's ability to keep secrets was never the best... although personally I expected a bit more resistance. The first details about Windows 10 Cloud began circulating last week, but today we already have not one, but two leaked builds, 15019 and 15025. From what we have been able to verify, Windows 10 Cloud installs like any other edition of Windows 10, and its interface is virtually identical. However, the big difference between this version and its older sisters lies in app compatibility.
App compatibility and the Win32 barrier
The main strategy of Windows 10 Cloud is to place greater emphasis on universal apps available in the official store, and to achieve this, it prevents the execution of classic Win32 software, just like Windows RT did. Back then it was a change in architecture that limited Windows RT, but in Windows 10 Cloud the barrier for Win32 is definitely artificial.
According to available information, the operating system lacks two advanced elements: one is OneDrive integration, and the other is PowerShell, which throws an incompatible application error (the option to run it exists, so this last part may change). Sideloading of apps works to an extent, there are no problems opening apps designed for Windows 8.x, and Edge extensions haven't gone anywhere.
As always, everything we see in Insider builds today may disappear tomorrow, so we are forced to take each of these details with a pinch of salt. Even so, the most solid fact remains: Windows 10 Cloud is real, and the role suggested by previous rumors seems to be correct. Another good question is what kind of hardware will run this build. Will Microsoft announce restrictions on specifications like it did with netbooks back in the day?
