Rumors regarding a new Windows 10 feature called "Home Hub" have been making the rounds on the internet recently. At first, it was thought that Home Hub would be some sort of Amazon Echo competitor, and although that's not entirely true, it isn't entirely false either. So just what is it, then? Our sources have confirmed that Home Hub is a Windows 10 feature designed to make your PC the center of your home, by making shared PCs more communal and bringing the connected home to Windows. We've been speaking with various sources to piece together everything planned for Home Hub — it's a really big project for Microsoft. So much so that not everything detailed here will likely make the initial release, and may even get cut before it ever reaches Insiders. With that in mind, settle in for a detailed look at what Microsoft has envisioned for Home Hub. Best VPN providers 2020: Learn about ExpressVPN, NordVPN & more What is Home Hub? Home Hub is a software feature that has been in the works since before the Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Redstone 1) was released. In fact, the Anniversary Update includes some features that are directly linked with Home Hub, such as Cortana being accessible from the lockscreen. More of Home Hub is expected to show up in the Creators Update (Redstone 2), with the bulk of Home Hub scheduled for Redstone 3 (late-2017) and Redstone 4 (in 2018). Home Hub isn't a dedicated device that's designed to take on the likes of the Amazon Echo and Google Home, as in the end, Home Hub is just the software. But that software can do everything the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices can, but with one added benefit: a screen. Home Hub is designed to run on Windows 10 PCs, mainly All-In-Ones and 2-in-1's with touch screens, but can work on any Windows 10 machine. Pen and ink support are also part of the plan. Home Hub isn't a dedicated device — it's just the software on your PC, no additional hardware required Adding a screen to these smart devices makes these things so much more approachable and useful, especially to families. Microsoft's end goal with Home Hub is to make shared PCs much more communal and helpful for multiple people that have to use them. By introducing new sharing features, new user interfaces, always-listening Cortana and apps that take advantage of new APIs, Home Hub becomes a compelling competitor to other smart assistants on the market. Home Hub Family Desktop With Windows as it currently stands, a shared family PC is confined to individual accounts that individual users must switch between to gain access and use their shared PC. There's also a guest account that's simply a standard user without a password that anyone can use. This method of sharing a PC is considered clunky internally at Microsoft, and with Home Hub the company aims to improve this experience significantly. With Home Hub, a PC can be unlocked without a password, yet still provide access to the same family data, including apps, documents, bookmarks and more that has been shared with a family. So for example, the "Bowden" family might have a shared PC that four people use. Each user will have their own account of course, but there will also be a "family account" that is always logged in. That account can see everything the 'family' is supposed to see, such as specific apps, calendar appointments, to-do's, and more.

In the case of calendar appointments, a member of the "Bowden" family can open up the Calendar app and see all the appointments that have been shared with the family. The magic here is whichever user is using the PC can authenticate themselves with Windows Hello, and see their own private calendar events in addition to what's shared with the family. Then, once that particular user is done, they can sign off, hiding all their private calendar appointments, yet keeping the family shared appointments there and readily available for another family member to view. This functionality will extend to apps on phones too — including iPhone, Android and Windows 10 Mobile. With the Family Desktop, Family Enabled Apps will take advantage of the shared account and do similar things to that of the Calendar app as shown in the above example. This functionality will extend to apps on phones too, including Android, iOS, and Windows 10 Mobile. If you've got kids, these Family Enabled apps will know whether it's appropriate to be showing kids particular content, which is perfect for families who can't always police their children at their PCs or phones. Home Hub Welcome Screen In addition to the standard desktop UI with Family Desktop, Microsoft is also looking at bringing a new shared workspace to Windows 10 with Home Hub called "Welcome Screen." Microsoft's goal with the Welcome Screen is for it to act kind of like a virtual fridge door, with your calendar, sticky notes, to-do lists, and more all visible for the entire family to see. The Welcome Screen uses the same "family account" and can launch family-enabled apps with the shared family desktop.