# Build 2018: AI replaces Windows as the new Microsoft flagship | Tech News (HT Tech)

> Build 2018 indicates that Windows is handing over the baton to Microsoft’s Cloud and AI products as the flagship product.

# Build 2018: AI replaces Windows as the new Microsoft flagship

## Build 2018 indicates that Windows is handing over the baton to Microsoft’s Cloud and AI products as the flagship product.

Aug 19 2022, 22:53 IST

![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png)

![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png)

![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png)

![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png)

![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png)

![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png)

![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png)

![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png)

![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png)

![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png)

![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png)

![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png)

![After three years, Microsoft Windows 10 has 700 million users.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/rf/image_size_960x540/HT/p2/2018/05/08/Pictures/_7df1aa7e-52ad-11e8-96b3-108223915881.jpg)

After three years, Microsoft Windows 10 has 700 million users. (Microsoft)

![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png)

### By KUL BHUSHAN

Microsoft is finally looking beyond Windows, the flagship product for the company for over a decade. The opening keynote of the company's annual developer conference Build 2018 saw a muted attention towards the Windows operating system. Instead, new age technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Azure cloud platform and Cortana digital assistant grabbed the limelight. Among all of these, Artificial Intelligence remained the core - indicating at Microsoft's big shift in focus for the coming years.

With AI at focus, Microsoft is building smarter machine learning tools for its variety of services. It showcased 'intelligent cloud' and 'intelligent edge' platforms. The philosophy behind the new AI-driven platforms is to make better sense of that big data generated from a wider range of devices including home appliances and connected cars.

"If AI is the heart of how we can advance society, the intelligent cloud and the intelligent edge are the backbone. In the next 10 years, billions of everyday devices will be connected — smart devices that can see, listen, reason, predict and more, without a 24/7 dependence on the cloud," the company said on its website.

Also read

click here.

"This is the intelligent edge, and it is the interface between the computer and the real world. The edge takes AI and cloud together to collect and make sense of new information, especially in scenarios that are too dangerous for humans or require new approaches to solve, whether they be on the factory floor or in the operating room."

Smart drones, Kinect and moreMicrosoft is now baking AI into all kinds of products and services you can think of. The company announced a partnership with DJI to launch smarter drones. Using Windows 10 drone SDK, new age drones will be able to monitor, analyse and even provide real-time data.

The company also announced adding new AI features to its Kinect through a dedicated Project Kinect platform.

"We've seen developers build transformative solutions across a multitude of industries, from security to manufacturing to health care and more. As sensor technology has evolved, we see incredible possibilities for combining these sensors with the power of Azure AI services such as machine learning, Cognitive Services and IoT Edge," says the company on its website.

"Today we are excited to announce a new initiative, Project Kinect for Azure — a package of sensors from Microsoft that contains our unmatched time-of-flight depth camera, with onboard compute, in a small, power-efficient form factor — designed for AI on the edge. Project Kinect for Azure brings together this leading hardware technology with Azure AI to empower developers with new scenarios for working with ambient intelligence." ALSO READ: Everything Microsoft announced for its cloud service, Azure

Project Kinect platform (Microsoft)

![image caption](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-245-140.png)

Project Kinect platform (Microsoft)

The company is giving same treatment to its other small yet highly important services. For instance, it launched a Speech Devices software development kit that will allow developers to leverage a more accurate speech recognition technology.

The kit also comes with features like noise cancellation and far-field voice capabilities - key feature for any smart home speaker. Microsoft hopes developers and OEMs will be using the technology to integrate into applications, like drive-thru ordering systems, in-car or in-home assistants, smart speakers and other digital assistants.

Project BrainwaveAnother big AI platform that the company announced was Project Brainwave. The platform allows developers to deploy high-end AI at chipset levels. Microsoft has tied up with chipset giant Intel to build processors that use deep learning models from the company's Azure cloud in real time.

The biggest advantage of Microsoft's Project Brainwave enables much efficient results. For instance, it has 5 times less latency than Google's tensor processing unit (TPU), an AI accelerator application-specific integrated circuit.

Microsoft bakes AI into its core services (Microsoft)

![image caption](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-245-140.png)

Microsoft bakes AI into its core services (Microsoft)

Windows, no longer the flagshipWhile Microsoft is looking at the future with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, it also suggests Windows is no longer the company's flagship technology. The company announced that its Windows 10, the latest iteration of the operating system, had hit 700 million users. At last year's Build, Microsoft had said Windows 10 had 500 million users. Six months later, the company announced the OS had 600 million active users.

While the 700 million user base is very impressive for the three-year-old Windows 10, it's still far behind the company's original plans to achieve 1 billion users by 2018. The company has already admitted it would take more time to hit that 1 billion device goal.

One of the big reasons behind Windows' slower adoption is the company's failure to capitalise on the mobile platform. Windows 10 Mobile remains one of the big flops for Microsoft. Instead, the company is now looking to build more cross platform services that work with Windows, Android and even iOS. Great example for this is how the company has been approaching Cortana digital assistant. The company is partnering with Amazon's dominant Alexa digital assistant and making it compatible with its own Cortana. Microsoft aims to make its Cortana compatible with other digital assistants as well.

In the past it has launched a variety of applications such as Edge browser for non-Microsoft mobile platforms. Going forward, Microsoft is expected to make its Windows features available on non-Microsoft products. This will easily allow Android and iOS users to experience core Microsoft features without changing their loyalties. ALSO READ: 'Your Phone' lets you mirror your smartphone on a Windows 10 PC

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

08 May, 16:29 IST

microsoft

machine learning

artificial intelligence

windows 10

![HT Tech Awards](https://tech.hindustantimes.com/ht-tech-power-list-awards-2026/httech-awards-banner-new.webp)

71,589,383,904,728

NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS

![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png)

## Tips & Tricks

![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/03/28/414x233/ChatGPT_Ghibli_style_images_1743161814450_1743161814596.jpg)

### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide

![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/14/414x233/invites_1738728829564_1739543695649.png)

### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide

![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/13/414x233/unnamed_1739426557335_1739426567634.jpg)

### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it

![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how

![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more

## Editor’s Pick

![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple

![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained

![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on

![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini

![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update

## Trending Stories

![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order

![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC

![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more

![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report

![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside

keep up with tech

![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png)

![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png)

![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png)

![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png)

## Gaming

![Check out these five gaming monitors under  <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider

![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off

![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges

![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it

![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png)

### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak

![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png)

## Trending News

### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order

![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC

![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more

![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report

![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside

![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif)

## Trending Gadgets

Mobiles

Laptops

Tablets

![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif)

- https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/build-2018-ai-replaces-windows-as-the-new-microsoft-flagship-story-9q6ApJPGRQ8H0kVpNOf7OO.html