An early version of Windows 10 has leaked, revealing features that were not seen in the Technical Preview. Among the new features? A new Xbox app and Cortana.
Of course, this Cortana is not a copy of the AI from the Halo games, but Microsoft’s internally branded digital assistant. Cortana now sits on top of the search interface, bringing more visibility to this feature for users.
More relevantly, the Xbox app seems to connect Windows users to their Xbox account directly. From the app, you can access your Achievements, friend lists, activity feeds, and the Xbox Store. There is no hint of Smartglass integration in it for now, but this feature may be there for the next Surface, and other Windows 10 tablets in the future.
Not mentioned in this report is whether this version, named build 9901, will have Xbox streaming, a feature Microsoft has openly admitted they are working on. In fact, they have demonstrated that their streaming app is already working very well, and is able to stream both Xbox 360 and Xbox One games.
Also not mentioned is whether Windows 10 will subsequently be able to use Kinect, particularly the standalone Kinect SKU which up to now was only sellable to devs. If you can stream your Xbox games via Windows 10 everywhere, you should also be able to play Kinect games this way, practical or not.
How does this news make you feel about Windows 10? Would you jump to upgrade if you are an Xbox owner? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
