The slides have since been made available online and shared by WalkingCat on Twitter. One of the sessions focused on Always Connected PCs coming from Microsoft partners. The devices run Windows 10 on a mobile chipset for a cellular signal. The traditional way to achieve LTE connections is to bundle devices with a SIM on sale. However, the information from WinHEC suggests Microsoft will try something different. According to ZDNet’s Mar According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, users will be able to attach their data plan in Windows and download eSIM profiles from the cloud. eSIMs are built into the device, rather than requiring a separate card, and don’t require in-store activation. The feature will make using Always Connected PCs close to seamless but may have some caveats. It’s likely the availability will depend on geographic regions, operators, and channels. Even so, it sounds like a better way of doing things. Businesses will even be able to do it in bulk via Intune.
Improving Power Saving Capabilities
The slides also discuss Windows 10’s power capabilities, specifically the current Modern Standby. It manages the background activities of devices and enables some wake scenarios that aren’t usually available. Microsoft is planning to expand and improve the functionality in collaboration with Intel. The pair will certify devices that pass tests, and run ‘PlugFests’. However, most exciting is the plan to bring Modern Standby to desktops. Though power consumption on desktop isn’t as critical as in laptops, it still affects electricity bills. It will also enable scenarios like Wake-on Remote Desktop, which will be infinitely useful to TeamViewer fans. It will be joined by Wake-on Fingerprint reader, which is self-explanatory. With Always Connected devices delayed until early 2018, it’s likely some will ship around April, joining Microsoft’s Redstone 4 update. With hope, many of those devices will see these improvements.
