For the first time since 2012, Apple would finally renew the design of its iMac. In 2021, Apple is preparing at least three new desktop Macs. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who also released information on future MacBook Pros and iPhone 12 successors in recent days, Apple will announce an iMac and two Mac Pros in 2021. The transition to Apple Silicon processors gives a new blows to the computers of the Californian giant. iMac: finally an edge-to-edge screen This year, the iMac could change completely. Mark Gurman indicates that the borders of his screen would be much smaller, like Pro Display XDR, the ultra high-end screen launched by Apple with the Mac Pro in 2019. The back of the computer would also abandon the curvature in favor of a completely flat frame. This new iMac would also be equipped with an Apple Silicon processor, probably a more powerful chip than the Apple M1 chip currently present in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. The 2021 iMac is reportedly
Microsoft's "Project Latte" aims to bring
Android apps to the Microsoft Store and Windows 10. But why is
Microsoft doing this? There are several theories. A few weeks ago, the Windows
Central news site reported that Microsoft was planning on how to get Android
apps to work on Windows 10, and make them available in the Microsoft Store.
This plan has a code name, "Project Latte", and appears to be aimed at
providing an Android subsystem for Linux, similar to the Windows subsystem for
Linux. The question still arises, however: why did the Redmond company get
started in this?
The fact remains that this project was quickly a victim of its success. The Astoria Android project has worked too well, which is why the story goes today that it allowed Android apps to run on Windows 10 without any adaptation or developer intervention / approval. Enough to thwart Microsoft's plans to enrich its stock of applications available on its own Windows platform (UWP) and its application store. Consequence: Astoria was therefore canceled in 2015 and the team disbanded.
Reconnect with application developers
Microsoft is much less concerned today with trying to get developers,
including its own in-house developers, to create Windows-specific
applications. Project Reunion is Microsoft's current attempt to try to mend
its unhappy relationship with app developers and stock its in-house app
store.
Parallel work is also underway on the virtualization front,
with Windows 10X and the Cloud PC service still not announced. On Windows 10X,
the variant of Windows 10 with a very different UI / UX (supposedly simpler
and cleaner), various containers will allow users to run their MSIX apps, UWP
apps, and ultimately their apps. Win32.
The “Cloud PC”, Microsoft's
next offering as an on-demand desktop service, is expected to be released in
spring 2021 (latest news). It aims to make Office and other applications
available to users through a service based on a Windows virtual desktop. Could
these projects also include support for Android apps on Windows? Nothing less
sure.
Let’s not forget the Microsoft “Your Phone” app, too. On a
very small subset of Samsung phones, users can already run and manipulate
their Android apps installed on their phone on their Windows 10 desktop,
through “Your Phone”. The experience is still full of bugs and so far
Microsoft has not enabled the feature for the majority of Android users.
Compete with Chromebooks
So let's come back to the Latte project. Why is Microsoft considering making
Android apps available on Windows via this approach? On Windows 10X, there is
one answer: it is to compete with Chromebooks. Although Microsoft officials
hardly ever speak publicly about Chromebooks, they are obsessed with their
growing share in education and business. Windows 10X is an important part of
Microsoft's competitive strategy against Chromebooks to remedy this situation.
And since Chromebooks can run Android apps, Windows 10X PCs should be able to
run Android apps as well in order to stay competitive.
But what
about other versions of Windows 10? There are emulation offerings, like
BlueStacks, that already allow users who want to run Android apps on their
PCs. But are there so many users who really, really want to run Android apps
on Windows 10? And if so, what are these applications? Once again, the answer
is not straightforward.
There remains a theory that Microsoft may
consider supporting Google Play services, in an attempt to increase the number
of optimized apps to reach a wider audience. After overemphasizing touch with
Windows 8, Microsoft made a 180-degree turn and ended up abandoning touch as a
premier means of interacting with applications.
Load Google
Some also suggest that Microsoft's goal with Project Latte is not just to run
Android apps on Windows 10, but to try to compete with Google head-on. And to
do everything so that Android applications delivered to Windows through the
Latte project do not support Google Play services, including the Play Store.
This is understandable, while the success of Android owes a lot to the many
applications available in the Play Store.
Others, even more daring,
suggest that Microsoft is trying to make a comeback to the mobile phone space
with a Windows-based phone that runs Android apps. Then again, this is
certainly more of a cry from the heart than a rational point of view: the
Surface Duo, which works like a phone, runs Android, not Windows, for good
reason. Finally, a lot of reactions on Twitter suggest that it would be for
Microsoft to expand its application offering through requested applications,
but only available on Android devices.
Another reason given is…
Apple. There are indeed a bunch of iOS apps that don't come with a
touchscreen. An opening for Microsoft, perhaps?