Windows IoT
Windows IoT, short for Windows Internet of Things and formerly known as Windows Embedded, is a family of operating systems from Microsoft designed for use in embedded systems. Microsoft has three different subfamilies of operating systems for embedded devices targeting a wide market, ranging from small-footprint, real-time devices to point of sale devices like kiosks. Windows Embedded operating systems are available to original equipment manufacturers, who make it available to end users preloaded with their hardware, in addition to volume license customers in some cases.
In April 2018, Microsoft released Azure Sphere, another operating system designed for IoT applications running on the Linux kernel.
The IoT family
Microsoft rebranded "Windows Embedded" to "Windows IoT" starting with the release of embedded editions of Windows 10.Enterprise
Windows IoT Enterprise is a binary equivalent version of Windows 10 and 11 Enterprise designed for use in embedded applications. It replaces both Embedded Industry and Embedded Standard, as well as Embedded FES. It functions in the same manner, including all of its components and features, but is licensed exclusively for use in embedded devices. Plain unlabeled, Retail/Thin Client, Tablet, and Small Tablet SKUs are available, again differing only in licensing.Later versions added a minor change that allows the use of smaller storage devices, with the possibility of more changes being made in the future. In Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, version 21H2, additional "Soft Real-Time" features were added. In addition, starting with the LTSC edition of version 21H2, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC will gain an extra five years of support compared to Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC.
Mobile
Windows 10 IoT Mobile, also known as Windows 10 IoT Mobile Enterprise, is a binary equivalent of Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise that functions exactly the same, except that it is licensed for IoT applications. It is unsupported as of January 14, 2020.Core
Windows 10 IoT Core is a cut-down version of Windows 10 that is considered by some to be the successor to Windows Embedded Compact, however it maintains very little compatibility with it. Optimized for smaller and lower-cost industry devices, it is also provided free of charge for use in devices like the Raspberry Pi for hobbyist use.Core Pro
Windows 10 IoT Core Pro provides the ability to defer and control updates and is licensed only via distributors; it is otherwise identical to the normal IoT Core edition.Server
Windows Server IoT 2019 is a full, binary equivalent version of Windows Server 2019, intended to aggregate data from many 'things'. Like the IoT Enterprise variants, it remains identical in behavior to its regularly licensed counterpart, but differs only in licensing terms. It also is offered in both LTSC and SAC options.Embedded family
Embedded Compact
Windows Embedded Compact is the variant of Windows Embedded for very small computers and embedded systems, including consumer electronics devices like set-top boxes and video game consoles. Windows Embedded Compact is a modular real-time operating system with a specialized kernel that can run in under 1 MB of memory. It comes with the Platform Builder tool that can be used to add modules to the installation image to create a custom installation, depending on the device used. Windows Embedded Compact is available for ARM, MIPS, SuperH and x86 processor architectures.Microsoft made available a specialized variant of Windows Embedded Compact, known as Windows Mobile, for use in mobile phones. It is a customized image of Windows Embedded Compact along with specialized modules for use in Mobile phones. Windows Mobile was available in four editions: Windows Mobile Classic, Windows Mobile Standard and Windows Mobile Professional and Windows Mobile for Automotive. Modified variants of Windows Mobile were used for Portable Media Centers. In 2010, Windows Mobile was replaced by Windows Phone 7, which was also based on Windows Embedded Compact, but was not compatible with any previous products.
Windows Embedded Compact 2013 is a real-time operating system which runs on ARM, x86, SH, and derivatives of those architectures. It included.NET Framework, UI framework, and various open source drivers and services as 'modules'.
Embedded Standard
Windows Embedded Standard is the brand of Windows Embedded operating systems designed to provide enterprises and device manufacturers the freedom to choose which capabilities will be part of their industry devices and intelligent system solutions, intended to build ATMs and devices for the healthcare and manufacturing industries, creating industry-specific devices. This brand consists of Windows NT 4.0 Embedded, Windows 2000 Embedded, Windows XP Embedded, Windows Embedded Standard 2009, Windows Embedded Standard 7, and Windows Embedded 8 Standard. It provides the full Win32 API. Windows Embedded Standard 2009 includes Silverlight,.NET Framework 3.5, Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, RDP 6.1, Network Access Protection, Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and support for being managed by Windows Server Update Services and System Center Configuration Manager.Windows Embedded Standard 7 is based on Windows 7 and was previously codenamed Windows Embedded 'Quebec'. Windows Embedded Standard 7 includes Windows Vista and Windows 7 features such as Aero, SuperFetch, ReadyBoost, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, address space layout randomization, Windows Presentation Foundation, Silverlight 2, Windows Media Center among several other packages. It is available in IA-32 and x64 variants and was released in 2010. It has a larger minimum footprint compared to 40 MB of XPe and also requires product activation. Windows Embedded Standard 7 was released on April 27, 2010. Windows Embedded 8 Standard was released on March 20, 2013. IE11 for this edition of Windows 8 was released in April 2019, with support for IE10 ending on January 31, 2020.
For Embedded Systems (FES)
Windows For Embedded Systems is a brand of Windows Embedded that consists of binary identical variants of the editions as are available in retail and function exactly the same as their regular counterparts, but licensed exclusively for use in embedded devices. This brand consists of binary equivalent versions of Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, 98, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Me, Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Business and Ultimate, Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise, and Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise.Originally, these editions simply had Embedded tacked onto the end of the SKU name until sometime around the release of Windows XP when the naming scheme changed to For Embedded Systems. Examples of this former approach include Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Embedded, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation Embedded, Windows 2000 Professional Embedded and Windows Me Embedded. Microsoft changed the moniker for FES products again starting with some Windows 8/8.1 based SKUs, simply labeling them as Windows Embedded before the Windows version and edition. Two examples of this are Windows Embedded 8 Pro and Windows Embedded 8.1 Enterprise.