The fast release rumours were right.
This morning Microsoft formally announced the date we had all been waiting for: the global release for Windows 10 - a version the company claims is so important it skipped ‘Windows 9’ completely!
July 29th is the date to circle in your calendars and Microsoft did it in some style, letting new Windows 10 voice assistant Cortana read it out. What’s more a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the day represents a global release across 190 markets.
A truly free upgrade?
In addition to the launch date, Microsoft also issued a statement on free upgrades saying:
“Consumers will have one year from July 29th to take advantage of the free upgrade. Once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, Microsoft will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device—at no cost.”
The company will also be operating a reservation program in place so eager users can have Windows 10 pre-installed on their PCs and ready to go on July 29th. I’ll get into how this works and how you can be first in line in my next post.
Read more - 'Free' Windows 10 Has High Cost To Windows 7 And Windows 8 Users
High Cost For Some
Sadly one area Microsoft chose not to expand upon today was the upgrade cost for those customers who aren’t eligible for the free upgrade.
This is actually fairly complicated with some versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 ineligible as well as older Windows platforms like Vista and XP. My guide breaks down whether you’re going to be among the unlucky ones.
Should You Wait?
What few may have considered, in this rush to grab Windows 10 as fast as possible, is whether that is a wise move? Based on my experience with the beta program it may be premature...
As I previously stated in responding to the July 29th rumours last week, the timeframe doesn’t leave Microsoft much time to whip it into shape. In fact the latest Windows 10 beta build (10122), while very relatively stable, still has a lot of bugs and some laggy performance (notably in the new start menu and File Explorer).
Read more - Windows 10 Free Upgrades Explained
There are mitigating circumstances for this: Microsoft has been piling new features into each Windows 10 beta, but with that surely about to be locked down it will be able to focus on bug squashing and UI polishing from now on.
Then again I’d expect a flurry of day one patches for Windows 10. There always are with any major new platform release. Should you wait? With a full year to upgrade for free I’d suggest it’s a good idea for all but those living on the bleeding edge.
Of course, given the Windows 10 new features video Microsoft releases today (embedded below), that may prove hard for some users to resist…
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