Windows 10: release date, price, news and features
Update: An exact time for Redmond's big reveal on January 21, 2015, has been announced. Get ready for more Windows 10 news at 9 a.m. PST tomorrow. Plus, more details have leaked regarding Windows 10, including leaks of Microsoft's 'Spartan' browser and how much the new OS might cost. Most recently, reports are coming in of a fresh hardware debut from Microsoft is in the works to properly ring in Windows 10 – read more below!
With Windows 8 and now Windows 8.1, Microsoft tried – not entirely successfully – to make tablets part of a continuum that goes from number-crunching workstations and high-end gaming rigs through all-in-one touchscreen media systems and thin-and light notebooks down to slender touch tablets.
The general consensus is that it still has a long way to go to produce a unified OS. Recently, Microsoft publicly made the first steps to doing just that, with Windows 10. Skipping the Windows 9 name entirely, the Redmond, Wash. firm aims to step into the next generation of computing with the right foot forward.
You will soon be able to download Microsoft's Windows 10 Technical Preview by venturing over to its Windows Insider Program website. You'll need a Microsoft account to get it, and it's worth bearing in mind that it's not the finished article so may be a bit rough around the edges.
Windows 10 release date: everything you need to know about the "Next Chapter" event on 21 January
- Microsoft is holding a special event at 5pm GMT on 21 January, where the Windows 10 Consumer Preview is expected to be announced.
- PC Pro will cover the event with a live stream of the presentation, accompanied by a live blog.
- It’s still not clear if Windows 10 will be a free upgrade or have subscription-based pricing.
- Confirmed Windows 10 features include Continuum, a new Start menu and Cortana. A new browser, codenamed Spartan, is also expected to appear.
- Find out how to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview.