Microsoft has been working toward unifying its Windows operating system for some time now. At this point, "Windows" is running on desktops, laptops, 2-in-1s, the Xbox, tablets, and smartphones (technically), among other devices. I put Windows in quotes there, however, because while UWP, or Universal Windows Platform, apps will run across these versions of Windows, the underlying OS isn't always dependent upon the same core. The Windows 10 that was installed on ill-fated Windows Phones, including, wasn't the same OS that's installed even on a Windows 10 laptop. The kernel was similar, nonetheless the shell and other components were not.

In keeping with new reports, Microsoft plans to jettison little-used legacy code and revamp and unify Windows across all devices utilizing a streamlined version based on the Windows Core OS. Specifically, the latest news to come out of Windows Central covers a future desktop version using the Windows Core OS, reportedly codenamed Polaris.

The goal with future version of Windows usually is to modernize, modularize, and unify the operating system so only the components necessary to have a particular device are used. The underlying core of your operating system can be the same across all devices, and will be stripped of legacy code and modules, that might slim-down Windows and reduce its memory, storage, and processing requirements significantly. That means there's do not just potential for performance improvements - especially on low-power devices - but increased battery life on mobile devices. Developers should benefit in the process, because they can create applications once, that'll run across every Windows-based device.

Native Win32 support, and it's also required to run legacy (i.e. non-UWP) applications, will never be part of Polaris, however. Support for legacy applications will likely come through some sort of emulation layer, similar to what Microsoft has done for upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon-based Windows devices, nonetheless final solution for handling Win32 support will be reportedly up throughout the air.