Windows 8 also added support for USB 3.0, Advanced Format, near-field communication, and cloud computing, as well as a new lock screen with clock and notifications.

[12] At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011, it was announced that the next version of Windows would add support for ARM System-on-chips alongside the existing 32-bit processors produced by vendors, especially AMD and Intel.

[24] On June 1, 2011, Microsoft unveiled Windows 8's new user interface, as well as additional features at both Computex Taipei and the D9: All Things Digital conference in California.

[40] Major items in the Release Preview included the addition of Sports, Travel, and News apps, along with an integrated variant of Adobe Flash Player in Internet Explorer.

[54] As part of its campaign, Microsoft set up 34 pop-up stores inside malls to showcase the Surface product line, and provided training for retail employees in partnership with Intel.

[87] Some pre-built devices may be described as "certified" by Microsoft; these must have secure boot enabled by default, and provide ways for users to disable or re-configure the feature.

The app does not support plugins or ActiveX components, but includes a variant of Adobe Flash Player that is optimized for touch and low-power usage.

[96] Windows 8 also incorporates improved support for mobile broadband; the operating system can now detect the insertion of a SIM card and automatically configure connection settings (including APNs and carrier branding), and reduce its Internet usage to conserve bandwidth on metered networks.

[100] To ensure stability and security, apps run within a sandboxed environment, and require permissions to use certain other functionalities, such as accessing the Internet or a camera.

The term was phased out in August 2012; a Microsoft spokesperson denied rumors that the change was related to a potential trademark issue, and stated that "Metro" was only a codename that would be replaced prior to Windows 8's release.

The user's default browser can distribute a Metro-style web browser in the same package as the desktop variant, which has access to functionality unavailable to other apps, such as being able to permanently run in the background, use multiple background processes, and use Windows API code instead of WinRT (allowing for code to be re-used with the desktop variant, while still taking advantage of features available to Windows Store apps, such as charms).

[114] Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system's user interface, many of which are aimed at improving its experience on tablet computers and other touchscreen devices.

The new user interface is based on Microsoft's Metro design language and uses a Start screen similar to that of Windows Phone 7 as the primary means of launching applications.

[122]: 74 Support for older XPDM and VGA display adapter drivers was removed in favor of heightened kernel stability, GPU scheduling performance and security.

[132][133][134][135] When this new policy faced criticism from users and enterprise customers, Microsoft partially retracted the change and stated that both operating systems would remain supported on Skylake hardware through the end of their extended-support lifecycle.

"[88][167] Microsoft's certification guidelines for Windows 8 ultimately revealed that vendors would be required to provide means for users to re-configure or disable secure boot in their device's UEFI firmware.

It also revealed that ARM devices (Windows RT) would be required to have secure boot permanently enabled, with no way for users to disable it.

However, Tom Warren of The Verge noted that other vendors have implemented similar hardware restrictions on their own ARM-based tablet and smartphone products (including those running Microsoft's own Windows Phone platform), but still argued that Microsoft should "keep a consistent approach across ARM and x86, though, not least because of the number of users who'd love to run Android alongside Windows 8 on their future tablets.

Markus "Notch" Persson (creator of the indie game Minecraft),[172] Gabe Newell (co-founder of Valve and developer of software distribution platform Steam),[173] and Rob Pardo from Activision Blizzard voiced concern about the closed nature of the Windows Store.

Bright wrote that its system of hot corners and edge swiping "wasn't very obvious" due to the lack of instructions provided by the operating system on the functions accessed through the user interface, even by the video tutorial added on the RTM release (which only instructed users to point at corners of the screen or swipe from its sides).

Despite this "stumbling block", Bright said that Windows 8's interface worked well in some places, but began to feel incoherent when switching between the "Metro" and desktop environments, sometimes through inconsistent means.

[179] Tom Warren of The Verge wrote that the new interface was "as stunning as it is surprising", contributing to an "incredibly personal" experience once it is customized by the user, but had a steep learning curve, and was awkward to use with a keyboard and mouse.

He noted that while forcing all users to use the new touch-oriented interface was a risky move for Microsoft as a whole, it was necessary in order to push the development of apps for the Windows Store.

[175] Others, such as Adrian Kingsley-Hughes from ZDNet, considered the interface to be "clumsy and impractical" due to its inconsistent design (going as far as considering it "two operating systems unceremoniously bolted together"), and concluded that "Windows 8 wasn't born out of a need or demand; it was born out of a desire on Microsoft's part to exert its will on the PC industry and decide to shape it in a direction—touch and tablets—that allows it to compete against, and remain relevant in the face of Apple's iPad.

[186] However, according to research firm NPD, sales of devices running Windows in the United States had declined 21 percent compared to the same time period in 2011.

[189] This capped the first year of declining PC sales to the Asia Pacific region, as consumers bought more mobile devices than Windows PCs.

[197][198] Reports also indicated that Microsoft was planning to offer cheaper Windows 8 licenses to OEMs in exchange for setting Internet Explorer's default search engine to Bing.

[199] On April 2, 2014, Microsoft ultimately announced that it would be removing license fees entirely for devices with screens smaller than 9 inches,[200] and officially confirmed the rumored "Windows 8.1 with Bing" OEM SKU on May 23, 2014.

However, Ni Guangnan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had also previously warned that Windows 8 could allegedly expose users to surveillance by the United States government due to its heavy use of Internet-based services.

[156][213][214] Volume license customers and subscribers to MSDN Plus and TechNet Plus were initially unable to obtain the RTM version upon its release; a spokesperson said the policy was changed to allow Microsoft to work with OEMs "to ensure a quality experience at general availability.