What would YOU do with Windows 10 on ARM

[Joe920]

We heard late last year that full Windows 10 is coming to mobile processors, opening the way for devices running full (x86) Windows applications. So now I'm curious:

What would YOU do differently with a phone that runs full Windows?


I'll start: if I had a WoA device, I would

Store OneDrive files locally. I've always wanted OneDrive to keep files in sync on my phone (over wifi) as well, and I'm hoping W10A will allow that. That way I can have reference docs ready for use without needing cell coverage. I'm thinking travel documents, books, etc

Block ads in Edge. I'm very much looking forward to using extensions on Edge, which I assume will be enabled once W10A arrives. Finally fewer ads while on mobile data!

Install a few x86 apps. Some users (not me obviously) might use uTorrent on their phone and make it their media hub.

Occasionally dock it. I personally would plug it in to a continuum dock regularly for quickly typing something out or quickly looking something up. For me it's much more natural to plug in one cable into a device that you have on you than hauling my laptop to the monitor I've set up. I already to this with my 950XL, and whenever I do that I keep missing Win10 things, like hitting start and typing to find an app, and using full-blown windowed multitasking.

So how about you guys? How do you imagine this would change your (computing) life?

___

Edit: other suggestions from below:

Lose some apps and deal with quirks
Avoid desktop apps, or be prepared to burn fingers
Save some money
Squeeze it lovingly
Use it on a thin and light tablet
Merge phone and PC in some distant future
Develop for the phone ON the phone.. Dev-ception!
Do full contact/email/file search on the phone
Connect basically any USB device, for example audio I/O
Use edge for streaming video, e.g. MLB, Amazon Prime Video
Run tons of specialized desktop apps
Run android apps in an emulator?! Guys, seriously..

 

[xandros9]

Assuming I had a phone running complete Windows...

Not too much would be different than if I had a normal Windows Phone.

I'd lose my Snapchat, exchange Task syncing, Protonmail, my bank, and some more odd apps that I need. I'd probably have a larger SD card if Windows has the same 20-something GB footprint. And I probably wouldn't have any docks or anything. And if the trend continues, it'll still be quirky.

 

[Joe920]

I'd lose my Snapchat, exchange Task syncing, Protonmail, my bank, and some more odd apps that I need.

Interesting perspective. Maybe we need a separate thread: Will win10 on ARM have a Windows Phone 8 emulator.

So I guess for you not much would change. For me it wouldn't be earth shattering either, but it would be nice. Aside from the business world where its usefulness seems obvious (manageability, mobility, cost, compatibility), personally I'm most interested in how things would change for enthusiasts and average consumers. I'm curious if there are some use cases that I haven't yet thought of.

 

[John Wolf1]

We heard late last year that full Windows 10 is coming to mobile processors, opening the way for devices running full (x86) Windows applications. So now I'm curious:

What would YOU do differently with a phone that runs full Windows?


I'll start: I'd

Store OneDrive files locally. I've always wanted OneDrive to keep files in sync on my phone (over wifi) as well, and I'm hoping W10A will allow that. That way I can have reference docs ready for use without needing cell coverage. I'm thinking travel documents, books, etc

Block ads in Edge. I'm very much looking forward to using extensions on Edge, which I assume will be enabled once W10A arrives. Finally fewer ads while on mobile data!

Install a few x86 apps. Some users (not me obviously) might use uTorrent on their phone and make it their media hub.

Occasionally dock it. I personally would plug it in to a continuum dock regularly for quickly typing something out or quickly looking something up. For me it's much more natural to plug in one cable into a device that you have on you than hauling my laptop to the monitor I've set up. I already to this with my 950XL, and whenever I do that I keep missing Win10 things, like hitting start and typing to find an app, and using full-blown windowed multitasking.


So how about you guys? How do you imagine this would change your (computing) life?

I can not see myself wanting to run x86 programs on a 5 inch phone. Not to mention I have a very high doubt those programs will run in a efficient way. I imagine my hand starting to melt from the heat.

 

[HeyCori]

What would YOU do with Windows 10 on ARM

Hopefully enjoy cheaper prices while getting a product that is more powerful than Atom processors. :grin:

 

[Link Kadeshi]

I'd love it.
I'd squeeze it.
AND I'D NEVER LET IT GO!

 

[techiez]

WoA would be beneficial for tablets, dont see it usefulness on a phone, most likely MS will block usage of x86 apps on 5in screen and wouljd enable them only via continuum.

 

[mikosoft]

It's an intriguing idea but there is still some way to go for phones replacing a PC. E.g. for photographers it's intriguing seeing Photoshop run on ARM but there is no way it will run as good as on i7 PC. It will just topple under the heavy load. Same for audio/video.

But maybe one day we will ge to a point where one device can do anything. W10 certainly put a foot into that door. Question is - can it move forward? I would use such device as my only device.

 

[milkyway]

Assuming I had a phone running complete Windows...

Not too much would be different than if I had a normal Windows Phone.

I'd lose my Snapchat, exchange Task syncing, Protonmail, my bank, and some more odd apps that I need. I'd probably have a larger SD card if Windows has the same 20-something GB footprint. And I probably wouldn't have any docks or anything. And if the trend continues, it'll still be quirky.

Maybe that's what the CShell and Windows 10 Cloud is all about. You stream the shell to your phone so you don't need the whole 20 GB thing stored.

 

[HM84]

Years ago I remember a discussion about using an iPhone for programming, as in developing the code and compiling it on the phone. There is an app that recently came out on the iPad used as a game to teach programming as well. This would be a nice feature to have on any smartphone on a full scale. The ability to run x86 applications opens the door for Windows phones to do just that, which is a very exciting prospect. Even CAD or simulations (or even Matlab) being run on the go would have been useful for me while I was at my old job, and especially while I was working on my thesis.

 

[Chemy JMHT]

I'm not sure the ARM CPUs will be able to handle the x86 apps very well, first thing will be trying everything, also it has to be a device with a way to plug it to a Monitor and a Keyboard, since I hate VKB and it takes 40% of the screen of the phone I can't see myself doing anything with something not designed for small screen on it.

 

[Joe920]

So loosely summarizing it seems that people hope to get thin, light, affordable tablets out of it, or have a phone that can be a full (but maybe slow) PC when docked. So great, assuming we can have either, what would people do differently? Just do the same things as before, but saving money on an extra device?

One thing I'd like is being able to do a full file/contact/calendar search of everything on my phone. That's currently not possible yet, and I've needed it a few times. So there, that would be new!

 

[HM84]

So loosely summarizing it seems that people hope to get thin, light, affordable tablets out of it, or have a phone that can be a full (but maybe slow) PC when docked. So great, assuming we can have either, what would people do differently? Just do the same things as before, but saving money on an extra device?

Well when you put it that way you make it sound like a silly dream, but I personally thought that the entire point of the smartphone when it was heralded (even pre-iPhone) was that it would be your computer in your pocket, saving you the trouble of having to get so many devices

 

[Joe920]

Well when you put it that way you make it sound like a silly dream, but I personally thought that the entire point of the smartphone when it was heralded (even pre-iPhone) was that it would be your computer in your pocket, saving you the trouble of having to get so many devices

I don't mean to downplay that dream, I'm just curious what would change for people, be they professionals, enthusiasts, or average consumers.

Personally my dream is that all computing devices i own will have thunderbolt, so that one monitor setup can accept any device and be ready to go in a second. I want that, and for me it would mean that as i walk past my desk i can plug in my phone and hammer out an email in a full Windows environment, with synced files at the ready.

That's awesome for me, but I am still curious to see what others hope to get out of it.

Edit: maybe for inspiration, full Windows means full support for a wide range of external devices. For me that would mean that I could hook up high quality I/O boxes (XLR connectors, phantom power) for high quality recording on my phone. Support for just about any printer. Backing up your iPad to your Windows phone using iTunes. Ok, that last one was a joke.

 

[Grant Taylor3]

It all depends on what you will be able to run. Store x86 apps or install whatever X86 applications you want.



Could you run Android apps like Snapchat in a VM since they will not currently make an app for Windows.

 

[Axeelant]

Came here to read the: "I'd run an Android emulator on it" comment, but strangely, it's not there :winktongue:

 

[Grant Taylor3]

I am not saying I would want to run an Android emulator.



What I would want to do is run all the UWP's that are on Windows 10 Mobile and Windows 10.



Like my banking app that runs on my Phone and other things that only run on Windows 10.

For work I would want RSAT, dameware console, ability to run Java apps, WebEx, full office, Pulse Secure VPN, Avaya One X Communicator SIP, Jabber and computer management so I can access remote PC's.

 

[NYCMetsPDX]

I would have a browser with flash to watch MLB.tv and all the other streaming services that don't have Windows mobile apps.

 

[Joe920]

I would have a browser with flash to watch MLB.tv and all the other streaming services that don't have Windows mobile apps.

Personally I wouldn't want flash on my mobile device in any form, but it would be great if at least Edge would be as powerful as on the desktop. For example, amazon prime video runs great in Edge on desktop, but doesn't work in Edge on mobile for some reason. If they can fix that in WP10 great, but if not, it should work once we're on W10ARM.

Either way, good point about media support in the browser!

 

[Faisal Islam2]

last hope for windows mobile !! hope Microsoft baking it well