The Windows 10X desktop leaks in a new video "demo"

WindowsCentral's alleged 10X walk-through starts with the striking details that the Start button is located in the midline of the taskbar, above which physical volume controls manifest themselves (if applicable). Furthermore, despite the line that 10X is built in part for tablet-like devices, there is no app drawer analog.

This, however, might be just as well as this new leak denies the existence of third-party apps in 10X - except for those that are web-based. They can be "added" to the (also central, Live Tile-less) Start bar (which also offers access to the UI's equivalent of Recents) via a browser (which is, of cource, Edge by default here).

Alternatively, a user could avail of Remote Desktop and connect to a "full" Windows PC in order to use 'proper' desktop apps. The lack of app drawer also has the work-around of pinning shortcuts to the taskbar, which shunts the Start button to the left.

Other controls, including Bluetooth/Wi-Fi toggles, Settings and on-screen volume sliders, are found in the Quick Settings, which is subsumed into the Action Center along with music controls in an arguably convenient fashion.

On that note, the clearly all-important taskbar in this alleged 10X leak can be adjusted in size, from Small through Medium and ending at Large, which might be best for touchscreen devices.

Size was also apparently an issue when developing actual windows for this new OS variant. They are all full-screen all the time, which is allegedly again done to accomodate trackpad-less interfaces.

The user can again circumvent this UI choice by using gesture-based Snap Assist: a three-finger swipe allows 2 apps to split the screen evenly. WindowsCentral now projects that the first devices to ship with Windows 10X will start to become available later in 2021.

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