Microsoft asks manufacturers for "cool" devices to win over users

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Over the years we have seen how the PC world has evolved surely you remember those ugly and boring boxes. Grey, white, beige colors... huge and very unaesthetic towers that little by little have been (thankfully) forgotten. What was the turning point? For many it was the release of the colored iMac that made many manufacturers get their act together, yes, that&39;s another story."

The fact is that the design on Windows computers has changed radically and the clearest example is the beautiful Microsoft Surface Studio or the mammoth, the HP Omen X and especially the original HP Omen X 35.In computing, in the aesthetics of _hardware_ nothing is what it used to be, neither in Microsoft nor in the manufacturers.

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And this is partly the result of an effort by Microsoft, which has tried to influence its partners, the companies that make computers to run under Windows, to that they offer models with more appetizing designs A fact that was made clear at WinHEC 2016 in Shanghai last December, where Microsoft unveiled what could be considered a set of building and marketing guidelines for teams that see the light of day in 2017."

In this sense, from the American company a total of five categories of devices were established Five types that include computers, mobile phones and other peripherals that should follow these guidelines to win over the buyer:

• Laptops and two-in-one devices: the new generation of computers so fashionable lately that combine design and power.
• Computers in general and peripherals: here, along with traditional equipment, we find mice, keyboards and complementary devices.
• PC Power: computers with enough power to be able to work with the new generation of graphics in virtual reality. In addition, those running later versions of Windows Redstone 3 will have support for integrated GPUs.
• PC for gamer users: computers and peripherals focused on their use in games that also attract Xbox users.
• Internet of Things (IoT): Devices running on Windows 10.

The smartphone, the great absentee

Are you missing any section? Surely it is and it is that among these schemes we see how we do not find any reference to mobile telephonyIt is not surprising, because this year we have witnessed the dismantling of the Lumia range, to which Microsoft currently has no alternative.

It remains to pull the manufacturers that offer phones with Windows 10 Mobile. Acer, HP, Alcatel as the best known but not much else, so that we are faced with a panorama that is sufficiently reduced to be referred to at least for now.

What can we expect?

And we are waiting to see support for x86 applications on ARM processors arrive, something that should happen throughout 2017, presumably at the end of 2017 with the appearance and availability of equipment that have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. A real breath of fresh air that can revive the platform and prepare for the arrival of a possible Surface Phone.

The arrival of the big update, the Creators Update, is also expected and later we will have to prepare ourselves to learn more about a new Surface Pro 5 or Project Scorpio. New devices that would have to follow the guidelines already started in October with the Surface Studio, Surface Dial or Surface Book i7 and that have meant that for the first time Microsoft was ahead of companies like Apple in innovation.

Via | ZDNet In Xataka | Is the Surface Studio the trigger for a new range of PCs? If so, we love the idea