Times change, software gets upgraded, new systems come and go, and suddenly you’re witnessing the end of the era, and this time it is the end of a classic tool, Microsoft WordPad. We often tend to keep things around for nostalgia’s sake and the WordPad is one such Microsoft feature that we rarely turn to and yet appreciate maintaining on our devices. After three decades of service, Microsoft announced that the WordPad feature will soon be retiring with the upgrades to Windows 11 that we will see in the future. Microsoft has been working on shaking up the brand image with renewed vigor recently and setting the stage for a new and improved Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 release. Built with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPU and the new Copilot AI, the upcoming launch has many new changes in store, so let’s take a look at what we know so far.
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Microsoft WordPad—Concluding 30 Years of Service
The Microsoft WordPad tool was introduced with Windows 95 and has been a part of the Windows interface since. For many, the tool was a halfway point between the overly basic NotePad and the more comprehensive Microsoft Word. The Word tool is likely what most of us are familiar with for all our text-based operations on the device, while NotePad is more commonly for sticking plain text excerpts that you don’t know what to do with just yet. A majority of us have little use for WordPad which is why it is actually surprising that the tool has had such a long run on the Windows operating system.
According to a blog post by the company, Microsoft will no longer provide WordPad upgrades on future OS updates for the systems that use the platform. It has been quite a long time since the WordPad tool received an update at all. The tool’s last update involved a few minor changes we saw with Windows 8. Future Surface Laptops will no longer come equipped with the tool either.
The Microsoft WordPad tool isn’t the only one that will no longer receive an update either. Microsoft’s Windows speech recognition feature has also been deprecated and replaced with the voice access feature provided with Windows 11 version 22H2. Windows Mixed Reality will no longer be updated and will soon be removed with a future release of Windows. Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Edge and Office are also being replaced. Similarly, those familiar with Cortana will already understand that the assistant can no longer have space in the Windows ecosystem, what with the coming of the new Copilot AI assistant set to replace it. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 will bring a whole new personality with it, especially following the Windows 12 release scheduled for July 2024, according to PC Magazine.
Leaks Abound: Microsoft Surface 6 and Surface Pro 10
As nostalgic as it is to see Microsoft WordPad and a few other familiar features of the OS go, it is time to look forward to the next stage of the Windows system and the line of Microsoft Surface Laptops that are now getting ready for launch, particularly the Microsoft Surface 6 and Surface Pro 10. According to reports from Windows Central, the laptops could feature the new Intel Meteor Lake or Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor. With the Copilot AI being prioritized as the future of laptop technology, Microsoft had earlier announced the arrival of the Copilot button on the keyboards of future devices, which we should see soon as well.
According to the leaks, the Microsoft Surface 6 will be available in two sizes, likely with either a 13.8-inch or 15-inch display. The internal Surface Laptop 6 specs have not explicitly been disclosed but the external hardware should see a design change as well as an upgraded expansion on the number of ports on the device. This could include “two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, along with the magnetic Surface Connect charging port” according to Windows Central. A haptic touchpad could also feature on the device.
For the Surface Pro 10, a lot of the changes are associated with the display, with a brighter screen and support for HDR content. The report indicates that the resolution for the cheaper version of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Pro 10 could be reduced from 2880 x 1920 to a 2160 x 1440 display. An NFC reader and a wider FoV webcam might be included as well, with the ARM chip lined up for the device, the device could be a real winner.
The Surface Laptop 6 release date and price have not been announced yet, but we should hear more in 2024. With so many changes to the Microsoft host of services and device designs, the Microsoft Surface 6 and Surface Pro 10 are going to be very interesting upgrades to the company’s offerings.