Microsoft reunites its core Windows engineering teams after 2018 split
Microsoft is reforming its unified Windows team, and hopefully that’s a good thing
Big changes are coming to Windows, and these changes require a unified approach. Microsoft is unifying its Windows engineering teams, placing them under Pavan Devuluri, who was promoted to President of Windows and Devices at Microsoft earlier this month.
In 2018, Windows was split into two teams. The core of the Windows platform fell under Azure, and the client parts of Windows became part of Microsoft’s “Experiences and Devices” team. This split came three years after the release of Windows 10 and three years before the release of Windows 11. Now, the leaders of Windows’ Core OS, Data Intelligence and Fundamentals, Security, and Engineering teams all report to a single leader.
This change unifies Windows engineering work under a single organization,
Moving the teams working on Windows client and server together into one organization brings focus to delivering against our priorities.
– Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft’s President of Windows, via The Verge
Microsoft is planning big changes for Windows. The “Xbox Full Screen Experience” is coming to Windows with the ROG Xbox Ally, aiming to increase the efficiency of portable gaming devices. Furthermore, Microsoft claims that it wants to create an “agentic OS” with integrated AI features and voice controls. Yes, Microsoft thinks that voice input can complement traditional mouse/keyboard controls.
Honestly, this move can only be beneficial for Windows. The disjointed nature of Windows 11’s development has had an impact. Yes, the OS has new features, but the OS is now more bloated and less responsive. If Microsoft can improve the fundamentals of Windows and make its OS snappier and more efficient, Windows users will have something to be excited about. If not, we can expect an increasing number of complaints about the current state of Windows. There’s a reason why Microsoft needed to make the “Xbox Full Screen Experience” to make handheld gaming viable on Windows.
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