Windows 10 IoT Core is the smallest version of the Windows 10 editions that leverages the Windows 10 common core architecture. This edition enables building low-cost devices with fewer resources. This is the core OS image that powers Windows IoT platform on Raspberry Pi 2.
Microsoft has already served up millions of Windows 10 upgrades for tablets, laptops, and desktops. Now they’re ready to offer Raspberry Pi 2 owners a customized version for their tiny, $35 computers.
Microsoft is even giving it to Pi owners for free. That’s not something anyone expected the company to do, but it’s hardly “business as usual” for Microsoft any more. With Satya Nadella at the helm, they’ve set a goal of getting Windows 10 installed on a billion devices. Giving away Windows 10 for the Raspberry Pi 2 is one of the steps that will help them get there.
What they’re offering isn’t the exact same Windows 10 you may have installed on your own PC already. The Raspberry Pi 2 can run Windows 10 IoT Core, a special stripped-down edition that’s built specifically for use with dev boards. It’s “a new edition for Windows targeted towards small, embedded devices that may or may not have screens,” according to Microsoft.
Raspberry Pi Windows 10 Projects
You can, of course, hook up a display to both the Raspberry Pi 2 and the Minnowboard. If you do, you won’t find Windows 10 IoT booting up to a graphical desktop with the resurrected Start Menu and Cortana waiting to serve you. There’s no shell, so you’ll have to code your own app if you’re looking for buttons to click.
So if there’s no GUI, what can you do with Windows 10 IoT core? Apparently you can use it to build awesome projects like a robot that plays air hockey or a door lock that grants access to visitors using facial recognition. Microsoft has tons of other examples they’re sharing in the Windows Dev Center.
Windows 10 Raspberry Pi Download
They’re also running a home automation contest right now over on Hackster.io, and giving away cash and trips to Maker Faire to the winners… so grab your free Windows 10 IoT download and start building!