Microsoft has quietly smothered the last WinRT device on the market, spelling the end of the ARM powered version of Windows. The non-Pro versions of the Surface attracted sellers with a very low price but then repulsed them with the performance and lack of support for basic applications. The Lumia 2520 was perhaps a better implementation of WinRT but again was not very successful against the competition. The Surface Pro 2 will continue to be produced and sold but its red haired stepchild has been show the door. Microsoft did confirm with The Register that this does not mean the end of Windows on ARM by any means, Win10 will be found on many devices in the coming year including ARM powered ones.
"The software giant confirmed on Wednesday to The Register that it has stopped manufacturing the Nokia Lumia 2520, a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet with a quad-core ARM processor, an HD display, and 4G LTE wireless connectivity."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- The TR Podcast 169: Windows 10, Elon's Musk, and the gimpy GTX 970
- Intel silicon photonics modules can't take the heat of the HPC kitchen @ The Register
- Title II wins America the battle for net neutrality, but the war is about to begin @ The Inquirer
- Google updates: Apple and Microsoft are developing for Android @ The Inquirer
- Google Quietly Unveils Android 5.1 Lollipop @ Slashdot
- Watch — Then Build — This Millennium Falcon Quadcopter @ MAKE:Blog
Now drop baseline price of
Now drop baseline price of surface pro to rt and microsoft will have winner
RT never showed up in the one
RT never showed up in the one place I thought it could work, NetBook-V.2 but that became moot as soon as baytrail came out it became COMPLETELY pointless. But these are things we know……
Well RT, and the devices that
Well RT, and the devices that are locked to RT, are now destined for the same location as those other M$ mobile device “successes”. Maybe someone can figure out how to run other OSs on them, or they will just be more landfill. Hopefully some parts from these devices could be repurposed, but tying an device, in hardware or firmware is just a waste. Those RT tablets were overpriced, compared to the competition, and the Surface Pros are overpriced, even by Apple pricing standards.
I think the title is a bit
I think the title is a bit misleading or confusing. What needs to be clarified here is that only Windows RT finally passes on. WinRT, the runtime, is still very much alive. It is the base upon which all Modern/Universal Windows Store applications are built on currently and into the foreseeable future.
Thanks to some terrible naming on Microsoft’s part it is very easy to confuse the two.
I guess the reason Microsoft is not upgrading Windows RT devices to Windows 10 is all down to the ill-decision to include the desktop on Windows RT for Office. In Windows 10 ARM based devices will not have the desktop, so I assume that it was easier to just cut Windows RT upgrade path, due to poor adoption, then to make an exception. Technically Windows 10 on ARM based tablets is Windows RT minus the desktop, or I should say, Windows 10 on ARM is what Windows RT should have been in the first place.
Agreed, article title is
Agreed, article title is incorrect. Windows RT is dead, WinRT is still alive and kicking.
Bloody hell, I had forgotten
Bloody hell, I had forgotten that they had done that to us; after referring to Windows RT as WinRT so frequently it has just become habit.
Ah, the memories of arguments about PCIe and PCIe and ending up with PCI-X.
Just lookout when using the
Just lookout when using the abbreviation “WinRT” for Windows RT, because WinRT is the formal word for the new Windows runtime. Yes, it’s confusing.
The reason for ARM based
The reason for ARM based Surface tablets existance becomes irrelevant with the proliferation of Bay Trail, Core M (Broadwell Y) and upcoming Cherry Trail. Looking at the amount of cheap Windows 8.1 x86 tablets (often under 100 bucks) swamping the market, the “non-Pro” Surface tablets simply no longer has a place (due to its incomptibility with the huge library x86 based applications and games). Not sure if Microsoft will ever revive the “non-Pro” Surface line again, but moving to x86 tablet design will also simplify things such as Windows operating system used.