It’s make your mind up time. Windows 10 has come in for a lot of (justified) criticism but it also represents the future of Windows and is free - but not for much longer…
This week
“The free upgrade offer to Windows 10 was a first for Microsoft, helping people upgrade faster than ever before. And time is running out,” announced Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group. “The free upgrade offer will end on July 29 and we want to make sure you don’t miss out. After July 29th, you’ll be able to continue to get Windows 10 on a new device, or purchase a full version of Windows 10 Home for $119.”
Mehdi omitted this, but those upgrading to ‘Windows 10 Pro’ from a professional version of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 will also lose their right to free upgrades. The retail price for Windows 10 Pro will be $199.
Are there any upsides to this? I’d argue there are two.
The first is Microsoft has promised to stop pushing Windows 10 upgrades so forcibly after the free upgrade period ends and removing the infamous ‘Get Windows 10’ alerts will be part of this.
The second is I still wouldn’t put it past Microsoft to offer a ‘last minute extension’ to the Windows 10 free offer either just before or after the July 29th deadline. Why not earlier? Because Microsoft wouldn’t benefit from the inevitable rush of last minute upgraders. Meanwhile extending the offer for 3-6 months could energise a second rush of upgraders who had not been aware of the original deadline.
One final important point to make is existing Windows 10 users won't be affected. Microsoft will not start charging you after the July 29th deadline passes as long as your copy is activated.
Has the Windows 10 free upgrade offer been a success? I suspect history will see it as mixed.
On the plus side Microsoft says over 300M PCs now run Windows 10 just 10 months after launch. But on the other Microsoft has taken a $1.5BN hit to give these copies away, adoption hasn't been greatly faster than Windows 7 and the company has been rightly savaged for some of the sneaky and often downright scandalous tactics it has employed to push users to upgrade.
All in all, I suspect there’s still a lot more to come from Windows 10 both good and bad...
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