Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft Windows’ new lease on life — why now?

For the past few years, it felt as if Microsoft’s Windows org was on autopilot. (No, not THAT Autopilot.) Microsoft leadership seemed content to let Windows run its course as long as people and partners continued to pay for it in some way.

The result: New features were underwhelming. Ads began popping up in the OS at every turn. Attempts to turn Windows into an “Agentic OS” were roundly hated. It hasn’t been a great time to be a Windows user.

But in the past few weeks, Windows seemingly got a new lease on life. Some think the new burst of Windows energy and ideas is directly attributable to Apple launching its relatively low-cost MacBook Neo. Others think the company’s plunging stock price and/or panic over the seemingly deteriorating state of its deal with OpenAI gets the credit.

I have my own theories as to why Windows suddenly is attracting Microsoft leadership love. But first, here’s how that love is manifesting.

What’s been happening

In March, Windows+ Devices Executive Vice President Pavan Davuluri went public with a list of commitments to improve Windows’ quality. On the list was everything from more taskbar customization to reducing disruption from Windows Updates by allowing users to postpone them indefinitely. Davuluri also said Microsoft will be improving Windows 11 system performance, memory efficiency and app responsiveness over the course of the year.

This week, Microsoft made good on a couple additional promises (at least to some degree). It removed the gratuitous Copilot button from a test version of Notepad, though it didn’t actually remove the AI code behind it, as some had hoped.

Microsoft also announced some positive changes to how it will be running its Windows Insider test program. It is simplifying the channels and ending the hated practice of rolling out new features for testing on a gradual and seemingly random set of criteria. It’s even organizing meetups of Windows Insiders in several cities in the coming weeks to get more face-to-face feedback.

The big mystery: why now?

But why is Microsoft doing this? And why now? (Spoiler: It has nothing to do with the stock price, as Wall Street couldn’t care less about anything other than AI.)

It’s no secret that Microsoft wants more consumer, not just enterprise, customers. An established way to try to cultivate consumers is to turn them into fans. It’s hard, but not impossible, to be a rabid fan of Entra Privileged Identity Management.  It’s easier to be part of an engaged fan community around a particular PC or phone.

Microsoft’s phone opportunity has come and gone with a thud. But it’s curious why Microsoft management has not discontinued making Surface PCs, too. At a time when Microsoft has taken an axe to so many product lines in the name of freeing up more money to burn on AI, why has it kept its low-margin Surface business around? (Microsoft stopped breaking out publicly its Surface numbers back in fiscal 2022, which means sales are nothing to crow about.)

I can’t help but wonder if there are new Surface-branded devices in the near-term pipeline. Microsoft execs have hinted in the past there could be new types of devices coming from the company, particularly wearables. In keeping with Microsoft’s “AI First” mantra, devices designed to get customers to pay for agent consumption would not be a stretch.

A consumer-focused Cloud PC thin client/tablet running Windows 365, which offers the ability to run agents securely? A new Surface fitness band that allows users to talk to an embedded Copilot about health and other topics?

It might not be as crazy as it sounds, given Microsoft recently hired the former VP of Google’s Pixel Business, Nanda Ramachandran, as chief marketing officer for Windows + Devices.

Whether these new devices arrive soon or not, I’m not mad to see Microsoft giving Windows some positive attention again.