At the Windows 10 event in Microsoft Office in Redmond, the company announced new features for the OS including Cortana, new web browser code named Project Spartan and also universal app with better user experience. Windows 10 will be the new OS which will be powering the desktops, Laptops, tablets and also phone.
Microsoft also announced that they will be releasing the new preview build of Windows 10 in coming weeks and we can expect the final version some time in October 2015 in line with the Windows 7 and Windows 8 releases. Windows 10 for phones will be released in preview version in February. Another important announcement was that Windows 10 upgrade will be free for the first year for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
There is lot of confusion on the free upgrade offered by Microsoft and we will explain which all edition of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 qualify for this update.
According to Microsoft:
We will offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 for qualified new or existing Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices that upgrade in the first year. And even better: once a qualified Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device, keeping it more secure, and introducing new features and functionality over time – for no additional charge.
This means that once the final version of Windows 10 is released (the RTM), you can upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and 8.1 for free for a period of one year. If you upgrade after the first year, you will have to pay the license fees which is not yet disclosed by Microsoft. And once you have upgraded, the company will continue to keep it up to date for the supported lifetime of the device. This is a big move from Microsoft and this will give millions of Windows 7 and 8.1 users to get the free updates.
Does all Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs qualify for the update?
To an extend yes! Microsoft is mentioning qualified devices to make sure that the hardware is supported on Windows 10 as well. But since the hardware requirements of Windows 10 is exactly similar to Windows 8.1, we expect almost all devices to qualify for the free upgrade. The company also says some features might be hardware dependent and in case it does not qualify for the hardware, those features might not be available.
Other requirements for Upgrade::
- Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update required- In case you are running Windows 7 without SP1, you will need to install it. Similarly if you haven’t upgraded to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8, you will have to do it to quality for free upgrade to Windows 10.
- Some editions of Windows are excluded: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise, and Windows RT/RT 8.1.
- Active Software Assurance customers in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise outside of this offer.
This means, except for Enterprise and RT versions, all other versions are eligible for upgrade. Microsoft will probably update with more offers and upgrade plans in the coming months.
