Windows Polaris is the codename for the operating system that will replace Windows 10. Here's what we know so far
As much as we can update it every month, downloading and installing all its problematic updates, Windows 10 is an old operating system. Available since late July 2015, Windows 10 is already five years old, but it's actually much older than that: it is in fact the heir and evolution of Windows 8.1, and even before that of Windows 7 and Vista.
But, to be honest, if we look at the interface and the basic setup, we could go all the way back to Windows XP, an operating system that a teenager today has never used. And that, in the long run, could become a big problem for Microsoft, which, in the meantime, must continue to develop the operating systems of its Xbox consoles, wearable devices like HoloLens and future Surface mobile devices, including foldable ones. The solution to these challenges? There are actually three: Windows Core OS, Windows Polaris, Andromeda OS. None of this is official, but all of this is now being talked about more and more insistently.
Windows Core OS
The only official trace of Windows Core OS is the Linkedin profile Naim Ayat, Microsoft engineer who describes his work as follows: "I'm on the Windows Core OS development team: the basis of future versions of Windows 10, Windows Mixed Reality (HoloLens) and the Xbox operating system." Windows Core OS, as far as we know at the moment, will be the core of Microsoft's future operating systems: unique for all OS, to be customized with special modules according to where it will be installed. The two main implementations of Windows Core OS will be Windows Polaris and Andromeda OS.
Windows Polaris
According to rumors, Windows Polaris is the future heir of Windows 10 Home: an operating system dedicated to home computers, much leaner than the current Windows 10 and with a more attractive and immediate interface for young people. Apps like Notepad and Paint should disappear, as well as fax support, while the old Control Panel should be replaced by a more modern and functional Settings app. Similar fate for File Explorer. Still many doubts if, along with these small changes, will come also a much bigger one: the end of support for 32-bit apps.
Andromeda OS
Andromeda OS will be the operating system dedicated to mobile devices with alternative form factor. So foldables of various types and dual screens. Also based on the core of Windows Core OS, it will bring great news in terms of user interface. It has long been the subject of the most disparate leaks but, at the moment, very little is known about this operating system.