Windows 10 Release date, Features, Specs & Pricing: Everything you need to know

Windows 10: Release Dates, Major Features, and More News from Microsoft


Microsoft has unleashed an update on Windows 10 development, and it’s a big one. We now have a firm release day for the new Windows OS – July 29 – along with a bevy of information on what features it will contain.

Windows 10 is trying to tread the line between appealing to older users of Windows while adding quite a few new (and often mobile first) capabilies. On the traditional side, there’s the second coming of the Start menu, which now includes new quick start and resume functions. But if Nadella’s Microsoft has a preference, it’s probably for all the new stuff they can show off.


Cortana

The headline-making features start with new Cortana compatibility. The Microsoft personal digital assistant, which is coming to iOS and Android systems this summer, will be more integrated into Windows 10. The app will be able to give you recommendations, quick link you to online information, provide reminders, and sync across all your devices. She’s also hesitant to talk about her feelings when it comes to the Master Chief.



Microsoft Edge

We don’t know everything about Microsoft Edge yet, but we do know quite a bit and it looks exciting: Windows is finally preparing to ditch Internet Explorer and instead use this new browser, which is more reminiscent of a Chrome setup, linking online and PC activities in new, streamlined ways. Again there’s a lot of customization based on your past behavior, plus new ways to comment on websites and a brand new reading view that Microsoft is touting as extra reader-friendly.

Office on Windows

This is an extra suite of apps on Windows 10 coming in addition to Office 2016. Here Word, Excel and PowerPoint are all “touch first” and universal, allowing for creation and collaboration across many devices (ahem, Surface tablets), especially those with a touchscreen.

Xbox Live and Gaming

More integration with Xbox Live and Xbox One is coming, so you can use various Xbox services even when playing a PC game. This includes video capture and sharing, and a very interesting ability to stream PC games onto the Xbox One – hopefully without lag?



New Security

Microsoft has two important updates here. First, there’s Windows Defender, a free app for malware protection and free updates for as long as you have your device. Second, there’s Windows Hello, which is a biometric authentication system that can use your face, iris or finger to log into your computer.

Other Stuff

Of course there are other updates to the Windows Store, and a multitude of apps in photos, videos, music, maps, people, mail and calendars, all with new-but-not-too-new designs. There’s also more mobility with a feature called the Windows Continuum which does not, alas, feature immortal god-like Clippies, but rather the ability to flick your settings from tablet mode to PC mode and back again as you desire.

So, how can you get Windows 10? Well, if you have a device that runs Windows 8.1 or newer, you can reserve a free upgrade from Windows.com, then download it on July 29. Or, you could bide your time and buy a new Windows 10 device when the software is released.

Windows 10 Home is $119, Pro is $199

Microsoft has ended speculation by releasing official Windows 10 pricing. The Home version will be $119, and the Pro version will be $199. Both prices are for an OEM copy to be installed on a brand-new PC.

These prices are identical to Windows 8 when it was first released, but a bit higher than current prices. Right now, Windows 8.1 Home 64-bit is $100 on Newegg, and 8.1 Pro 64-bit is $140.

Since both copies of Windows 8.1 include a free upgrade to Windows 10, it may make sense to purchase a copy of Windows 8.1 now if you’re running an old operating system not eligible for a free Windows 10 upgrade, or plan to build a new desktop from scratch.



Microsoft teases first wave of Windows 10 devices from HP, Dell, and Toshiba

Microsoft has given visitors to Computex 2015 a sneak peek at several new devices that will launch with Windows 10, highlighting the capabilities of the new OS.

In a brief preview to manufacturing partners, Nick Parker, vice president at Microsoft’s OEM Division, showed off a new super-portable 11.6-inch, 2-in-1 notebook from Hewlett-Packard’s x2 series that has a magnetic hinge design, Bang & Olufsen speakers and a red anodized finish.

He also showed a hybrid 9-inch HP tablet that can attach to a full-size keyboard, which has its own case. Designed for note-taking on the go with a stylus, the tablet comes in a silver and aquamarine color scheme.

Parker also revealed a beta version of the Dell XPS 15, a thin notebook with a carbon fiber finish. It’s a successor to the XPS 13 and features a 15-inch InfinityEdge thin-bezel display.

Sharing the stage at the Taipei International Convention Center was a new Toshiba Satellite laptop, also a 2-in-1, with a high-resolution 4K screen and an infrared camera that works with Windows Hello, the company’s attempt to do away with passwords via face-recognition algorithms.

Shown off at a Microsoft event at Computex in Taipei on June 3, 2015, this Windows 10 Toshiba Satellite laptop is a 2-in-1, with a high-resolution 4K screen and an infrared camera that works with Windows Hello, the user authentication feature of Windows 10.

Microsoft said the new Toshiba is optimized for Cortana, the voice-driven assistant that will feature on Windows 10 platforms.

Discussing other new Windows 10 machines that were announced at Computex, Parker also pointed to the Acer Z3-710, an all-in-one with a 23.8-inch screen, the Asustek Computer Transformer Book T100HA, a 2-in-1 laptop with up to 14 hours of battery life, and the gaming-oriented Asus Zen AiO Z240, which has infrared 3D cameras in the bezel, six speakers and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics card with up to 4GB of VRAM.

Windows 10 will become available in 190 countries starting on July 29, and Microsoft is trying to lure users with features such as Start menu improvements, the new Edge browser and interoperability across a variety of platforms. It’s also dangling free upgrades for one year.


ATMs Could Be Among First to Upgrade to Windows 10


Microsoft has already said that Windows 10 will work on a PC, tablet or phone. Now it wants to put Windows on every other gadget you might want to connect to the Internet.

On Monday, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 IoT (short for the idiotically named "Internet of Things"). It's essentially a tool to let your connected thermostat to talk to your connected car, or for a bank's connected ATM to talk to its network hub.

And if all those things run Windows, they'll play nicely (in theory) with your Windows PC or phone. That means you should be able to turn on your living room lights with Windows, and a company should be able to manage its army of connected nanobots with Windows too.

That's a much better solution that what exists now: A sea of random apps, each of which controls a different gizmo. Your connected oven has its own app. Your connected TV has its own app. And your connected self-watering plant has its own app too.

Not only is that annoying, it's also a missed opportunity.

Imagine if your connected oven could talk to your connected smoke detector. Then your smoke alarm wouldn't go off when you burn your London broil.

Microsoft is far from alone in its attempt to create a platform for connected gizmos. Apple (AAPL,Tech30), Google (GOOGL, Tech30), Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) and Intel (INTC, Tech30) also want to be the go-to hub for the billions of gadgets that will eventually be connected to the Internet.

The potentially unique proposition that Microsoft has to offer is that Windows 10 IoT won't only control the connected stuff in your house (like Apple and Google are going after), or the connections in businesses (like Amazon and Intel are fighting over). Windows 10 IoT seeks to be the operating system for all Internet-connected devices.

Here's Microsoft's elevator pitch: For businesses, Windows IoT gadgets connect to the cloud-based Azure IoT tools that will help companies make sense of all the data flowing in and out of the thingamajigs on their network. For consumers, Windows is the most-used operating system in the world, so you'll have one easy-to-use app to control everything in your home.

Microsoft already has a platform like this called Windows Embedded. Notably, about 95% of the world's bank ATMs run Windows XP Embedded. But Microsoft has given banks and other businesses little reason to update their software to newer versions.

Now, by adding cloud support and throwing in some big data analytics (and probably some other buzzwords as well), Microsoft hopes that Windows 10 IoT will catch on.

So Microsoft's got more than a decent shot at staking its claim in the IoT race. Especially since connected homes and gadgets haven't exactly taken off yet. It's still super early.