The annual Microsoft Build developer's conference has a bit of Google IO glow surrounding it this year, thanks in no small part to the Windows 8 conundrum.
Is it a failure? Is it the beginning of a software revolution? What about apps? How many Surfaces have been sold? When will we see new devices? And what the heck is going on with Windows RT?
Microsoft has already given us more than a taste of what to expect between June 26 - June 28 in the form of Windows Blue news, but plenty of possible announcements on new devices, services and updates remain distinct possibilities.
We've gathered what we know about Build into one handy guide for you (right here, of course) plus added some well-informed hypotheses on what you can expect from the conference, taking place in the halls of San Francisco's Moscone Center late next month.
1. Cheap device time
As with all good developer conferences, Microsoft will place the brunt of attention on the software side, but we wouldn't be surprised if there's some talk - either out in the open or behind closed doors - about how Windows Phone can win the cheaper phone wars.
When we sat down with Microsoft's Greg Sullivan at CTIA in mid-May, he immediately swung into talk of how a $129 Windows Phone 8 device - the Lumia 521 on T-Mobile, specifically - could kick the butts of similarly priced Android handsets.
The hardware is there, but if Microsoft truly wants to build out a wide product range, it's going to need to sell why lower and mid-tier handsets are just as important as high-end phones. If it can get devs and the watching public and press on board with that message, feature phones may have a new king.
2. Welcome, Windows 8.1
This is the big, no brainer announcement as Microsoft has already confirmed Windows 8.1 will be released via public preview during Build.
We've heard plenty about this Windows 8 update, known until recently as Windows Blue, and Microsoft even spilled the beans on the update in a late May blog post by Head of Windows Program Management Antoine Leblond.
W8.1 will "add new features and functionality that advance the touch experience and mobile computing's potential," all the while tipping its hat to customer feedback. Look for more backgrounds, a lock screen slideshow, aggregated search and a new Internet Explorer.
- Check out the top 12 enhancements coming to Windows 8.1
Microsoft will officially release the update "later this year," providing "more options to businesses, and give consumers more options to work and play," and Build will be our first chance to see first hand what the Softies have done with the Windows 8 refresh. In fact, regular Joes will be able to play around with it themselves starting June 26, the first day of Build.
This isn't simply an operating system update: We'll see more for apps (more on that below), a likely Windows Phone 8 update, and some new stuff for Windows server.
Blue a.k.a Windows 8.1 a.k.a the free Windows 8 update could spell feast or famine for Microsoft's new take on the OS, so we'll keep a close eye on how well it functions and how well it's received, which may be a given if Microsoft's Start tip brings back a little of the old Start button's magic.
There is apparently information about Windows 8.1 on the way in the next few weeks, leaving us to wonder what else Microsoft has hiding under its hat.
3. Splitting up and coming together - apps, that is
Microsoft has promised to bring an app overhaul to some of its Windows 8 apps as part of this whole Blue revamp, including ways to run apps side-by-side on devices home to smaller-sized screens. The hope is to do so without a massive internal work over, which if Microsoft can achieve would make for more expedient delivery to awaiting Windows 8 customers.
Microsoft revealed in its late May blog post that the Music app has undergone a complete redesign, while the Photo app will have new editing features. Expect more talk on more built-in app updates, plus the introduction of all new apps, as time goes on too.
A revamp of first-party apps is certainly something Microsoft fans want to see, and we imagine Build is the next mark on the horizon for Microsoft to make some major app announcements. Plus, we'd really like to know what these redesigns have in store.
Perhaps most exciting of all, from a functional level, is more Snap Views, or the ability to split your screen among different applications.
Users will not only be able to resize their apps to any dimensions they want, they can share the screen between two apps, and have up to three apps on each screen in use (if using multiple, connected displays). Finally, Microsoft has promised to let users have multiple windows of the same application "snapped together - such as two Internet Explorer windows." Now this we gotta see.
4. Smaller Windows 8 devices
There's a space Microsoft hasn't extended its Windows 8 reach to yet, but that could change before year's end.
That area is of course smaller devices, namely ones developed by the company's OEM partners and sized in the 7- to 8-inch range.
"As part of [new device offerings], we are also working closely with OEMs on a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows," former Microsoft CFO Peter Klein said during the company's April earnings call.
The timing seems right for Microsoft to introduce a tablet or hybrid meeting the smaller size requirements: In March, the company revised its display resolution requirements for OEMs down to 1024 x 769, meaning the producers are now free to play with daintier displays.
We've seen leaks for an 8-inch Acer device called the Iconia W3, which actually made a hasty appearance on Amazon before getting the hook. Asus seems to be on board with whittled-down Windows 8 products, and that's nothing to say about Microsoft's potential Surface Mini musings.
A May 15 DigiTimes report indicated Microsoft plans to launch an 8-inch Surface in June, followed by a 10.x-inch version as early as the third quarter of the year. Citing "supply chain makers," the sometimes spurious site noted the 8-inch Surface will feature Samsung-built touch panels and Nvidia processors.
Will we see an OEM-made 7- to 8-inch device burrow out of Build? We certainly think that, along with a smaller Surface, is certainly possible.
5. Windows Phone Store strategy 101
Let's be frank: Windows Phone lacks hard in the app department. At last count, the Windows Phone Store counted 145,000 apps - compare that to the bajillion-plus in the iOS and Android app stores, and Windows Phone is doing a fine job of holding up the rear.
Granted, the Store's app count is growing, and the Microsoft team is "talking to a lot of folks" about various apps, something the company told us in a March interview, all the while staying focused on developing a "vibrant, differentiated third ecosystem."
The big question for Microsoft is how to get that message to developers while simultaneously courting the big name apps that are embarrassingly hard to come by on the platform.
We were told during CTIA 2013 that there will be app platform discussion for Windows Phone 8 during Build by Senior Marketing Manager Greg Sullivan, with a focus on the "here and now" of the platform and not what's down the road.
Leblond also said we'll see an "improved Windows Store" better designed to push up top free apps, new releases and personalized picks with Windows 8.1. The re-grand opening on the Windows Store looks like it could fall between June 26 - June 28.
Yes, Windows Phone 8 is a new platform, and every week the company seems to add at least one high-profile app (recently it was a full-fledged YouTube app) but if Microsoft wants its mobile OS to be around for the long term, it's got to figure out its app situation quick. Build seems like the place to lay all its apps on the line.
6. Xbox One ties us all together
On May 21, Microsoft introduced the world to a new generation of games, TV and entertainment through the Xbox One, the long-awaited follow-up to the Xbox 360.
Microsoft has promised a multi-part introduction to the new Xbox, including some going-ons at E3 2013 and yet more at Gamescom 2013. Even though the Xbox One is out of the bag, there's still plenty of mystery shrouding it, including if/how it will work with systems like Windows Phone.
Developers are no doubt clamoring to learn more about the console and how it fits into the larger Microsoft ecosystem. To be honest, we're wondering plenty of things ourselves and can't imagine Microsoft passing on the chance to talk about and introduce new features related to its flagship console.
Word in mid-May surfaced that Microsoft's updated Xbox 360 dashboard ties into the Xbox One, and could help gamers transition to the new console. The new UI is said to have markings of Windows 8.1, as well. The public beta of the new dashboard may come in late June or early July - right around the time of Build.
There's an amazing amount of potential in this device that's not just a gaming console, but a completely different way to be entertained and connected. Build will build on the announcements of May 21 and E3, no pun intended.