The global launch of Windows 10 for PC is in less than two weeks, and Microsoft now sheds some light on its update policy.
Windows 10 will start rolling out to PCs worldwide on July 29 and Microsoft is now offering the last pieces of the puzzle so users can get a better idea of what to expect. With this in mind, the company just updated its fact sheet for the Windows support lifecycle to include the upcoming Windows 10.
The latest fact sheet now reveals that Windows 10 will benefit from updates for the next 10 years, until October 2025. More specifically, mainstream support will end on Oct. 13, 2020, while extended support will continue until Oct. 14, 2025.
This means that Microsoft will maintain its regular 10-year support lifecycle for an operating system, broken down into a five-year mainstream support stage and another five-year extended support phase.
Moreover, Microsoft will also continue to support devices when the OEM continues to support Windows 10 on those devices, adds a note to the policy.
During the supported phase, the updates will be available for fee and Microsoft will not charge any Windows 10 subscription fees.
"Updates are cumulative, with each update built upon all of the updates that preceded it," Microsoft noted. "A device needs to install the latest update to remain supported."
The company further explains that updates may include various security or non-security fixes, new features, or both, but not all devices will support all features in a given update. If a device is incompatible in terms of hardware, lacks current drives, or is no longer within the OEM support period, it may not be able to get updates. At the same time, update availability may vary depending on region, country, network connectivity, hardware capabilities (sufficient storage space, for instance) and others such.
Windows 10 is expected to include a slew of neat new features and improvements over its predecessor, and so far it sounds quite promising. A new browser called Edge (previously codenamed "Spartan"), a desktop version of Microsoft's Cortana digital assistant, better memory management and better integration with mobile are just a few highlights, but Windows 10 is expected to bring much more.
