Windows 10 RT is Allegedly in the Works

Microsoft released Windows RT a couple of years ago to promote the idea of the then-new Metro environment and the Windows Store. But since Windows RT devices are only able to run Metro apps from the Windows Store, and people originally didn’t like that approach, they didn’t accept Windows RT the way Microsoft hoped, so the company decide to stop producing Windows RT devices.

The fact that Microsoft abandoned Windows RT, and also announced that the operating system won’t get a Windows 10 upgrade (although the update with Windows 10-like features has been released last year), made people to think the company killed the OS, but Windows RT recently showed some signs of life.

Microsoft working on Windows 10 RT?

Although the company didn’t say anything about Windows RT in quite some time, Windows 10 RT is listed as a supported OS for Device Guard, a new security feature for Windows 10 Enterprise. So where did Windows 10 RT came from if Microsoft killed Windows RT and announced that it won’t get a Windows 10 upgrade option? Nobody (except Microsoft) knows for sure.

Maybe Microsoft changed its mind, so it decided to deliver Windows 10 support to Windows RT after all (once again the current version of the OS has already been updated with a few Windows 10 features). On the other hand, maybe the company prepares a whole new system based around ARM chips that has yet to be announced.

However, there’s another important fact that can’t be overseen – Device Guard is a feature for Windows 10 Enterprise, so if it is also compatible with the alleged Windows 10 RT, maybe ‘the new’ operating system will be aimed to Enterprise users only. And this could ignite some further discussions how Microsoft could be planning this move to take on Chromebooks.

Device Guard is a new security feature for Windows 10 Enterprise, presented by Microsoft last year, that scans a program for a digital signature, and determines whether it’s trusted or not, so it allows only completely secure and trustful programs to be installed on companies’ computers. And if Windows 10 RT only supports Universal apps, once again, it would perfectly fit into Device Guard’s concept.

This isn’t the first time we see signs of life of Windows 10 RT, as Microsoft also lists the operating system as supported in Audio Engine Core Test on MSDN pages. So, a lot of things indicate the fact that Microsoft is not done with te ARM-based operating system yet.

The ‘revival’ of Windows 10 RT will certainly delight users who enjoyed the original version of the operating system. But who knows, if Microsoft indeed releases a ‘new’ operating system, maybe it will offer something different to users, and they will accept it this time.