It's difficult to think of anything that could differentiate future Windows Phones from iOS and Android devices. The market share gap is so vast that unless Microsoft comes up with something truly remarkable, if they want to enter the mobile phone market, they should be preparing to launch a phone with Google's mobile operating system.
Perhaps, though not entirely certain, the HP Elite X3 has paved the way for some of Microsoft's most ambitious dreams. This HP device has the ability to run PC software on a phone via Windows 10 Mobile. Interestingly, Twitter user WalkingCat has demonstrated some tricks for emulating x86 programs on a mobile device.
This is precisely why Surface tablets have worked so well. I remember asking a colleague why she should buy one. Her answer was simple: you can install programs from your PC on Microsoft's hybrid tablet.
This Twitter user is referring to Microsoft's plans to introduce x86 emulation to Windows 10 in a Redstone 3 update in the fall of 2017. The importance of this functionality lies in the fact that it would produce a huge improvement in Continuum, one of the flagship features of Windows 10 Mobile.
it looks like Windows's hybrid x86-on-ARM64 tech has a new name "CHPE", whatever it means maybe something like Compound Hybrid PE ? pic.twitter.com/aW1RLYU3dM
— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) November 21, 2016
Continuum allows you to use a Windows phone like a PC when connected to an external display and keyboard, but currently, the only software that works in Continuum mode is the Universal Windows Platform apps. This platform doesn't include the key programs typically used by enterprise and hardcore users.
The very idea of emulating PC programs on a mobile device sounds quite challenging, especially since that software often relegates the device to resource-intensive tasks. But if Microsoft could make x86 apps run with the efficiency of the ARM architecture, it could have a goldmine on its hands, allowing it to distance itself from the competition.