Microsoft Windows IoT for Client Systems: A Historical Journey and Today's Latest Innovations

Learn about the Microsoft Windows Embedded/IoT journey and the roadmap ahead.

Martin Grossen
1 month agoInternet of Things

First: Yes, the Microsoft Windows Embedded/Windows IoT products are still alive!

Many of you may remember the time of the first Windows Embedded operating systems from Microsoft: Windows NT Embedded and XP Embedded. The journey began with Windows NT Embedded, codenamed Impala, introduced in 1999. Initially, this toolkit, developed by VentureCom and licensed by Microsoft, focused only on minimizing the image footprint. Subsequently, with XP Embedded, codenamed Mantis, the toolset expanded significantly with Target Designer and Component Designer, allowing selection from around 12,000 packages with various dependencies. The development process was somewhat trying: after hours of de-selecting packages, the dependency checker ended up re-adding most of them back into the image.

For the point-of-sale (POS) market, Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 with a predefined feature set was available. This easy-to-use version was installable like a consumer version but with more options to select during the installation process.

Throughout all these versions, the same kernel as the standard Windows consumer versions was utilized, and only x86 architecture was supported, ensuring full compatibility with the wider Windows PC ecosystem.

In parallel and even slightly before, there was Windows CE for mobile devices on x86 and Arm architectures. In very early versions, the SH4 architecture was supported as well. These Windows CE/Compact versions were source code-based, and the developer tool was the Platform Builder. Starting with Windows CE 4.x, the Platform Builder was no longer a standalone toolset but rather a plug-in for Visual Studio. But let's no longer talk about Windows CE / Compact, since the last version, Windows Compact 2013, has already reached the end of support in 2023. If you still have a Windows CE/Compact-based solution without hard real-time requirements, you should consider the Windows on Arm solution as described later.

With the release of Windows 7, Microsoft continued its Embedded/IoT journey with modular offerings like Windows Embedded 7 Standard (WES), codenamed Quebec, and the full version Windows 7 for Embedded Systems (FES). Windows Embedded Standard 7, similar to XP Embedded, gained popularity in industrial applications. However, access to these Embedded/IoT versions necessitated a special customer license agreement (CLA) with Microsoft, obtained through authorized distributors like Avnet. This has not changed to this day.

Following Windows 7, Windows Embedded Standard 8 (Codename Cassini) was introduced, but Windows 8 saw limited success in the industrial market.

The turning point came in 2015 with the release of Windows 10, including a license tailored for the industrial market: Windows 10 IoT Enterprise. Notably, the Long-Term Servicing Branch/Channel (LTSB/LTSC) versions, which provide 10 years of security updates, remain available, with LTSB/LTSC versions 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

With Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, Microsoft changed the approach to the industrial Embedded/IoT market: To keep the industrial channel 100% compatible with the consumer world, they went back to a fully installable version — no modular and cheaper version/license was available anymore. However, to keep costs down for low-end systems, Microsoft introduced Windows 10 IoT Enterprise licensing pricing based on CPU performance: From Base, Entry to Value, and up to the High-end license. OEM customers can choose between PKEA activation (one product key per license label for activation) and ePKEA activation (Microsoft provides one OEM license key to activate up to 50k devices with the same key).

Windows 10 / 11 IoT Enterprise License Placemat:

List is not complete, please contact microsoft@avnet.com for a full list.

With the Base license mentioned above, Microsoft introduced the first "full-blown" Windows 10 IoT Enterprise version on industrial Arm devices: on the NXP i.MX8 family. Of course, the performance is not breathtaking, but for smaller applications, the cheap and low-power solution in combination with the cheaper license cost can be very interesting. Especially as nearly every API32 code runs on this version and PC applications can be used emulated without recompiling to Arm! Very interesting for older systems and older Windows CE/Compact applications! Arm64 code will run beside the API32 emulated code.

Today, Microsoft's focus is on Windows 11. The GAC (General Availability Channel, formerly SAC but now with a 12-month update cycle) was available in the IoT channel already from the first release of Windows 11 21H2. Since the end of May 2024, the first Windows 11 LTSC version has been released: Windows 11 IoT Enterprise 2024 LTSC. With this release, there will be no Windows 10 LTSC version anymore. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC will be the last LTSC version on the 10 platform, it still has a life cycle of 10 years allowing the product to be sustainable until 2031.

While maintaining the licensing and pricing structure from Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC now supports Arm Qualcomm CPUs. With Qualcomm's industrial/IoT-grade Arm CPUs boasting extensive performance, powerful AI engines, and low power consumption, coupled with the established PC ecosystem, the Windows on Arm platform becomes increasingly attractive.

In addition to some new onboard features like USB 4.0 and Wi-Fi 6/7 support, the most important feature of Windows 11 IoT Enterprise 2024 LTSC is the 10-year availability of security updates from Microsoft. In times of new cyber resilience laws around the world, it is very important to ensure the maintenance of the operating system.

If you have a special industrial device where functionality and features remain constant for the life of the device, Windows 11 IoT Enterprise 2024 LTSC may be a very good solution for you!

And keep an eye on Windows on Arm: this will be a very hot topic in the near future!

Martin Grossen
Microsoft IoT MVP
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