While today’s Microsoft event is mainly focused on the Enterprise – meaning the desktop side of things – that hasn’t stopped the company from showing us tidbits of what they’re doing for the touch UI.
No, this isn’t a look at Modern 2.0, that will be coming later. However, this is a look at the way Windows 10 will behave on special form factors like two-in-one devices, hybrid devices and so on.
While the current build of Windows 10 that Microsoft’s showing off still supports the Charms bar, we knew, and Joe Belfiore just confirmed it, that that will soon be going away, or at least changing in the future.
Microsoft has a new approach for the touch part of its OS, which it’s calling Continuum. This harkens back a bit to the days when Windows 7 was supposedly designed for tablet use, in that we’re seeing desktop elements being optimized for touchscreens.
For example, swiping sideways will now bring up the task view, which is much easier to use and better optimized for touch. You"ll also be able to go in and out of "tablet mode" depending on what you need and the way you use your device.
Windows 10 will adapt itself depending on what device you’ll be using it on, so when it detects a touchscreen as well as a mouse and keyboard, it will be show up differently, sort of like halfway between Desktop and Modern.
However, take this at face value, as the company has stated this UI is likely to change by the time Windows 10 ships, thought the core concept will probably stay the same.
Update: This article has been updated to include a video of the feature.