Microsoft Envisions One Windows OS To Rule Them All

Microsoft's vision of one interface isn't exactly fresh news, as we saw Windows chief Terry Myerson make this revelation back in September. Currently, Microsoft has three consumer operating systems: Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1 and Windows Phone 8. The latter mobile phone platform is expected to be upgraded to v8.1 in the spring, launched along with a new Windows Store and Windows 8.1/RT update that will mark the beginning of the company's unified approach.

Microsoft's head of devices, Julie Larson-Green, hinted to this approach while speaking at the UBS Global Technology Conference last week. "We have the Windows Phone OS. We have Windows RT and we have full Windows. We're not going to have three," she said.

Microsoft couldn't be any clearer than that, and it fits within the company's new One Microsoft push. "We do think there's a world where there is a more mobile operating system that doesn't have the risks to battery life, or the risks to security. But, it also comes at the cost of flexibility. So we believe in that vision and that direction and we're continuing down that path," she added.

As it stands now, Microsoft has created a unified design style across desktop, mobile and console, but the app ecosystem is divided between x86 and ARM-based architectures, as well as form factors. One of the biggest complaints thus far is a lack of a common store shared between all three platforms. However, the Spring 2014 updates will supposedly tear down the walls between smartphone, tablet and desktop.

In addition to the One Platform talk, there's speculation that Larson-Green eluded to Microsoft's unannounced wearable tech projects including the supposed Surface smartwatch and the Xbox-targeting, Google Glass competitor. She began saying that sensors -- which have really beefed up in phones like the Motorola MOTO X and LG G2 -- are going to become a big part of how we think about things.

"So some of the things we've been talking about -- you see all these fitness devices that people wear on their wrists and they do some interesting things," she said. "What's the extension of that? What are the sensors and things that we could build that would help you in your daily life, from telling you that you didn't quite do your pushups as far down as you really thought you could go, to letting you know that your heart rate is too high and you must be stressed out, take a deep breath, to letting you know when your bus is running late at your bus stop and -- your bus stop is running late. And that's why we've been focusing on natural user interface for a while, working on that."

Earlier in the Q&A she hinted to wearable tech again, saying that mobility will continue to change, expand beyond the smartphone, tablet and ultra-thin notebook to the home, and to the body.

"It's going to continue to evolve. It's a very exciting time to kind of have this services strategy where you can get access to all the data and information that you care about, the people, the documents, your entertainment, all the things in your life from whatever is most convenient to you at the time," she said. "And so looking at the family of devices, mobility is a huge part of how people live and work and interact today. So we'll be there with those devices."

To read the full Q&A with Julie Larson-Green, head here.