The latest Windows 10 is ready to roll out to PCs next week, but one highly-anticipated feature will not be available at launch.
More specifically, Windows 10 will finally give users the chance to install applications on the SD card, thus saving up internal storage space. The feature was expected to become available when Windows 10 rolls out, but Microsoft now confirms that it will in fact be available at a later date, which remains unspecified for now.
"We have actually made the decision to postpone the apps on SD functionality to a later release," Microsoft explains. "While I know this feature excited many of us, we didn't feel like it was ready for prime time. Our goal is to delight users with everything that we build, and we truly feel that that is what will happen once we have fully built our vision for this feature."
While Microsoft doesn't note any specific timeframe for when this functionality will become available, it could arrive with Threshold Wave 2 in October. Microsoft could add the install-apps-to-SD option when it releases the new Windows 10 desktop version of its Skype messaging app.
Although it remains unclear at this point just when exactly this feature will become available, it's still good to know that Microsoft has not backed out of plans to allow app installs on external storage. This will allow users to purchase devices with less internal storage at lower prices, and expand the space via external memory cards.
This option was one of the most highly-anticipated Windows 10 features, however, and there is a possibility that its delay will limit the new OS's appeal at launch. Consumers who were planning on buying a more affordable, lower-capacity Windows 10 tablet, for instance, will not be able to install apps on SD until later this year, which could prompt them to postpone their purchase.
A number of Windows 10-powered tablets are expected to become available once the OS officially rolls out on July 29, but it remains to be seen whether consumers will make their purchases now or wait until they are sure they can use external storage for apps.
Aside from the option to install apps on SD, Windows 10 will bring along a slew of other neat features and functionality. The latest OS will bring Cortana to the desktop, offering deeper integration with mobile, rock a powerful new browser called Edge (initially referred to as Spartan), go easier on RAM, and offer powerful productivity tools, among the highlights.
