Microsoft’s Project Zenith is a ‘distraction-free Windows experience’ for developers

Microsoft is giving its developer-optimized Windows experience a name: Project Zenith. While the software maker originally announced a similar developer-optimized Windows effort at Build earlier this year, Project Zenith is designed for new developer-focused devices with 64GB or more of unified memory.

“Project Zenith devices come with a preconfigured Windows setup for development and a set of tools curated for what developers reach for first,” explains Logan Iyer, CVP of Windows platform and developer at Microsoft. “On these devices, developers can run 30B+ parameter models locally and unmetered — accelerating experimentation while helping reduce reliance on metered cloud tokens.”

AMD announced the first Project Zenith device on stage at IFA earlier today, a miniature PC powered by Ryzen AI Halo chips. There will be more Project Zenith devices “in the coming months,” including ones with different silicon.

These Project Zenith devices will include pre-installed developer tools like Visual Studio Code, GitHub Copilot, PowerToys, WinAppCLI, and Windows Dev Skills. The File Explorer has also been configured to show file extensions, hidden files, and the full path in the title bar. Microsoft has also disabled recently used files and folders and sync provider tips, as well as enabling long-path support. Start menu tips and account notifications are also turned off, and the PowerToys Command Palette is enabled by default.

Some of these changes feel like ones that should just be enabled by default on every Windows 11 install, particularly anything that removes the annoying distractions in the operating system. Microsoft has been on a mission this year to greatly improve Windows 11, and Project Zenith is the developer-side effort.

“Project Zenith is the result of listening to developers about what they need from Windows today, and where they want the platform to go next,” says Iyer. “As AI continues to transform software development, we are committed to evolving Windows alongside the community that builds on it.”