Microsoft to launch Windows 10 on July 29 as free upgrade for millions of users

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Microsoft to launch Windows 10 on July 29 as free upgrade for millions of users

PUBLISHED : Monday, 01 June, 2015, 8:43pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 June, 2015, 9:21am

Agencies in Seattle

Windows 10 is Microsoft's latest attempt to win over mobile users. Photo: Reuters

Microsoft said on Monday its new Windows 10 operating system would be available worldwide on July 29, as a free upgrade for users of the most recent versions of Windows.

The world’s largest software company had earlier said Windows 10 would be released this “summer”.

Touch-friendly Windows 10, which features the return of the Start menu and will run across PCs, tablets and smartphones, is Microsoft’s latest attempt to win over mobile users and features a new browser called ‘Edge’ that is integrated with Cortana, the company’s voice-activated answer to Apple’s Siri.

It will be offered as a free upgrade to users of Windows 7 and 8.1, a strategy announced in January, designed to capture as many users as possible.

Microsoft also said new PCs and tablets running Windows 10 would go on sale on July 29, while Windows 10 for other devices such as smartphones would be available later this year.

The move marks a major launch for Microsoft, after the relative failure of Windows 8, which was rolled out in 2013.

Microsoft has high hopes for Windows 10, which it wants to see installed in a billion devices around the world by 2018. The idea is to win over app developers.

Windows 10 is expected to feature a common base with which developers will be able to build apps that work on smartphones, tablets, PCs and desktops, and even Xbox.

Reuters, Agence France-Presse