Microsoft is working on a new edition of Windows 10 that Microsoft internally calls 'Windows 10 Lean' that, once installed, is a whole 2GB's smaller in size compared to a normal edition of Windows 10 like Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro. This SKU was first spotted on Twitter thanks to its inclusion in the latest Redstone 5 preview build, but with no official announcement from Microsoft detailing what this new edition of Windows 10 is for, I decided to do some digging.
As it turns out, Microsoft is facing a big problem when it comes to keeping devices with a low amount of storage up to date with the latest Windows 10 feature updates. More often than not, cheap, low-end tablets and laptops with 16GB of internal storage will find themselves stuck on the version of Windows 10 that those devices shipped with, because there's not enough storage space to apply any new feature updates.
According to my sources, Windows 10 Lean aims to fix this problem. It's a SKU aimed specifically at devices with 16GB of storage, and has a much smaller footprint out of box. It strips out things users won't need on a device with a small of storage, such as the Registry Editor, Internet Explorer, and more. It's still the same old legacy Windows that we know and love, just streamlined so that it better fits on devices with smaller internal storage.
It is important for Microsoft to ensure that these devices can install new versions of Windows 10, which is why it's building Windows 10 Lean. It's normal Windows 10, but on a diet. I'm told that Microsoft is also doing some work behind scenes on Windows 10 Lean that ensures updates do not encounter rollbacks. This might make update install times slower on Windows 10 Lean in favor of higher install success rates. I don't know the specifics regarding this, however.
What I do know is Windows 10 Lean does not remove support for legacy apps, meaning it still has full Win32 app support if you need it. Other than the differences mentioned above, it's still legacy Windows at the end of the day. Windows 10 Lean is not part of Windows Core OS, and as such is definitely not the edition of Windows 10 that will run on Andromeda.
Of course, Windows 10 Lean is still in development internally, and very buggy in the latest Redstone 5 builds. Microsoft may decide to cancel or change its plans at anytime, but for now what are your thoughts on Windows 10 Lean? Let us know in the comments.
