Breakthroughs in computing find their true expression through the experiences crafted by developers. Our aspiration is to position Windows as the premier platform for developers, merging cutting-edge hardware innovations with software meticulously optimized for development tasks.
At Build 2026, we unveiled a developer-optimized Windows 11 experience designed to facilitate faster building and shipping processes, while also emphasizing Windows’ evolution into an open platform for secure, agentic experiences. Today, we are excited to announce Project Zenith, a ready-to-code, distraction-free Windows experience tailored for developer-class devices equipped with over 64 GB of unified memory and memory bandwidth exceeding 250 GB/s, allowing developers to dive straight into their work.
Project Zenith will initially launch with AMD’s Ryzen AI Halo, with additional devices from our OEM and silicon partners set to follow in the coming months.
Devices under Project Zenith come with a preconfigured Windows setup specifically for development, along with a curated selection of tools that developers can access immediately. These devices empower developers to run models with over 30 billion parameters locally and without limitations, thereby accelerating experimentation and reducing dependence on metered cloud tokens.
Project Zenith exemplifies Windows at its finest—actively listening to developers, responding with intention, and collaborating across our ecosystem to elevate the standard for what a developer PC can achieve.
Improving the baseline Windows 11 experience
Since the start of this year, we have committed ourselves to enhancing Windows 11, making it more performant, reliable, and refined for everyday use. From Search to File Explorer, and across various memory usage scenarios, Windows is evolving to become faster, calmer, and more polished, offering users greater control over the experiences that matter most.
Devices featuring Project Zenith will benefit from these enhancements while providing an optimized development environment that developers have long requested.
Ready to code out of the box
Project Zenith includes a suite of pre-installed tools that span various programming languages, runtimes, source control, and productivity applications. Windows Terminal and Visual Studio Code are conveniently pinned to the Taskbar, ensuring that your preferred tools are always within reach.
Additionally, we have tailored Windows Settings for coding across File Explorer, Search, Start, and the Taskbar. File Explorer is configured to display file extensions, hidden files, and the full path in the title bar, with long-path support enabled. Features such as recently used files and folders, as well as sync provider tips, are disabled to create a cleaner workspace. In Search and Start, the Command Palette is enabled, while tips and notifications are minimized to reduce distractions.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has become an essential component for running Linux workloads on Windows. Following our open-sourcing of WSL last year, we have further integrated it into Windows with WSL containers, providing a seamless way to create, run, and interact with Linux containers directly on the platform.
With Project Zenith, these enhancements create a calm and meaningful foundation for development. This initiative does not dictate a single workflow; rather, it allows developers to configure, extend, and personalize their environments according to their preferred tools, languages, and frameworks. It establishes a better baseline, shaped by the settings and tools that developers prioritize, ensuring that new devices work in harmony with their workflows.
Secure platform for agents on developer-class hardware
We are entering a transformative era in software development, where agentic applications are becoming increasingly prevalent. Developers require a secure foundation for building and deploying these applications. At Build 2026, we outlined how Windows is evolving to meet this need by integrating OS-enforced identity, containment through Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC), and enterprise-grade manageability for agents. Project Zenith devices will leverage these platform advancements from day one, offering a secure environment for developing and executing agentic applications.
As AI models grow in complexity, agentic coding workflows necessitate continuous computing capabilities. By shifting some intelligence to the edge, we are achieving token economics that enhance the developer experience: frontier models address frontier challenges, while other processes run locally at scale. With over 64 GB of unified memory and memory bandwidth exceeding 250 GB/s, Project Zenith devices empower developers to execute sophisticated coding models locally and without constraints, thus lowering token costs.
Project Zenith is just the beginning
Over the past year, we have continuously refined Windows to align with the current landscape of development. From WSL and Windows Developer Configurations to Intelligent Terminal and expanded on-device AI capabilities, each investment is aimed at enabling developers to maintain control and accelerate their building processes. Project Zenith consolidates the various advancements across the Windows platform into a tailored experience on new developer-class PCs.
Moreover, Project Zenith embodies our collaborative approach with our ecosystem. By partnering with OEMs, we provide developers with a range of choices across devices and performance tiers while ensuring a consistent ready-to-code experience. Although hardware specifications may differ, the commitment to delivering powerful, thoughtfully configured devices for modern development remains unwavering.
Project Zenith is a testament to our dedication to listening to developers and understanding their needs from Windows today, as well as their vision for the platform’s future. As AI continues to reshape software development, we are steadfast in our commitment to evolving Windows in tandem with the community that builds upon it. We eagerly anticipate the innovations you will create, making Windows the platform where the next generation of applications, agents, and AI experiences flourish.
