People and organizations can do great things with Cortana,
Microsoft Edge, Xbox App, new Office Universal apps and
more.
REDMOND, Wash., July 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft
Corp. announced that Windows 10 will become available Wednesday as
a free upgrade1 or with new PCs and tablets. Windows 10
includes innovations such as Cortana,2 an Xbox app and
Microsoft Edge for a familiar, yet more personal and productive,
experience. The most secure Windows ever, Windows 10 is delivered
as a service and kept automatically up-to-date with innovations and
security updates. Windows 10 offers one experience that will become
available on the broadest range of devices, including PCs, tablets,
phones, Raspberry Pi, Xbox One, HoloLens and more — with more than
2,000 devices or configurations already in testing. The new Windows
Store and Windows Software Development Kit also become available
Wednesday, opening the door to new and innovative app experiences
on Windows 10.
People around the world will celebrate the launch of Windows 10
Wednesday at fan celebrations in 13 countries and via a new
yearlong initiative to celebrate people and organizations making a
difference around the world. Microsoft encourages people to share
how they plan to #UpgradeYourWorld and to vote for a global
nonprofit to receive a cash donation by simply mentioning the
nonprofit in a post on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and using the
hashtags #UpgradeYourWorld and #vote. More information on Upgrade
Your World can be found at
http://www.windows.com/upgradeyourworld.
"A new era of Windows starts today. From the beginning, Windows
10 has been unique — built with feedback from over 5 million fans,
delivered as a service and offered as a free upgrade," said
Terry Myerson, executive vice
president, Windows and Devices Group, at Microsoft. "Windows 10
delivers on our more personal computing vision, with a natural,
mobile and trusted experience. Along with our partners, we're
excited to deliver the best Windows ever, which will empower people
and organizations around the world to do great things."
Windows 10: Best Windows ever
Windows 10 is fast and
familiar — with the return of the Start menu and Live Tiles for
instant, streaming updates of what matters most. Windows 10 is the
most secure Windows Microsoft has ever released, with enhancements
to Windows Defender and SmartScreen to help safeguard against
viruses, malware and phishing and innovations such as Windows
Hello, which offers a fast, secured, password-free way to log
in.3 Keeping up-to-date is also simple, as free updates
will help people stay current with the latest features and security
updates for the supported lifetime of the device.
Windows 10 is more personal and productive, with voice, pen and
gesture inputs for natural interaction with PCs. It's designed to
work with Office and Skype and allows you to switch between apps
and stay organized with Snap and Task View. Windows 10 offers many
innovative experiences and devices, including the following:
- Cortana, the personal digital assistant, makes it easy
to find the right information at the right time.
- New Microsoft Edge browser lets people quickly browse,
read, and mark up and share the Web.
- The integrated Xbox app delivers the Xbox experience to
Windows 10, bringing together friends, games and accomplishments
across Xbox One and Windows 10 devices.
- Continuum optimizes apps and experiences beautifully
across touch and desktop modes.
- Built-in apps including Photos; Maps; Microsoft's new
music app, Groove; and Movies & TV offer entertainment and
productivity options. With OneDrive, files can be easily shared and
kept up-to-date across all devices.
- A Microsoft Phone Companion app enables iPhones, Android
or Windows phones to work seamlessly with Windows 10 devices.
- The all new Office Mobile apps for Windows 10 tablets
are available today in the Windows Store.4 Built for
work on-the-go, the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps offer a
consistent, touch-first experience for small tablets. For digital
note-taking needs, the full-featured OneNote app comes
pre-installed with Windows 10. The upcoming release of the Office
desktop apps (Office 2016) will offer the richest feature set for
professional content creation. Designed for the precision of a
keyboard and mouse, these apps will be optimized for large-screen
PCs, laptops and 2-in-1 devices such as the Surface Pro.
Windows 10: Best platform for businesses
Feedback from
millions of IT pros has shaped Windows 10, the most extensively
tested version of Windows ever. Ready for corporate deployments,
Windows 10 will help companies protect against modern cyberattacks,
deliver experiences their employees will love and enable continuous
innovation with a platform that keeps companies up-to-date with the
latest technology. Businesses will be able to control the frequency
of their updates and select the features and functionality that are
right for each group of their employees.
Windows 10 includes built-in, enterprise-grade security, so
customers can replace passwords with more secure options, protect
corporate data and corporate identities, and run only the software
they trust. New management and deployment tools simplify device
management, help lower costs, and enable companies to power their
business with the enterprise strength of the Microsoft Azure
cloud.
Top apps available on Windows 10
The new Windows Store
will open Wednesday and begin accepting new apps for Windows 10.
The Windows Store offers one-stop shopping for popular free and
paid apps, games, movies, TV shows and the latest music, which can
work across all Windows 10 devices. The new Windows Store is the
only store where people can use Cortana to control apps with their
voice5 and get real-time notifications on their app
tiles. All Windows Store content is certified by Microsoft to help
keep devices safer. In addition to existing Windows 8.1 apps such
as Netflix, Flipboard, Mint.com, "Asphalt 8: Airborne" and The
Weather Channel, the Windows Store provides a constant stream of
new and updated Universal Windows Apps and games, including
Twitter, "Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta," Hulu, iHeartRadio,
USA TODAY, "Candy Crush Saga" and
others including WeChat and QQ, which will launch
soon.6
Easy upgrade, devices now available
Upgrading to
Windows 10 is easy for customers running a genuine Windows 7 or
Windows 8.1 PC or tablet. Starting Wednesday, people who reserved
their upgrade to Windows 10 will be notified in waves when their
upgrade is ready to be installed. For business customers, Windows
10 is available to start deploying within their work environments,
and starting Aug. 1, organizations
that have volume licensing can upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise and
Windows 10 Education.
Retail partners are ready to help people upgrade to Windows 10
with our largest tech bench program ever, including more than
100,000 trained retailers and tens of thousands of stores around
the world. Free upgrade programs will be available Wednesday, with
Windows 10 software becoming broadly available in retail stores
around the world between mid-August and September. Devices running
Windows 10 will be available in some retail stores on Wednesday,
with many, many more devices to become available in the weeks and
months ahead.
Microsoft has also worked closely with retailers to introduce
programs to help people easily upgrade, including Best Buy,
Bic Camera, Croma, Currys/PC World,
Darty, Elkjøp, Fnac, Jarrir, Incredible Connection, Media Markt,
Staples, Yamada Denki, Yodobashi and many more leading retailers
from around the world.
Information on upgrading, new and compatible devices, and apps
for Windows can be found at http://www.windows.com. Additional
information and media assets are available at
http://blogs.windows.com/launch.
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) is the leading platform and
productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and
its mission is to empower every person and every organization on
the planet to achieve more.
1 Limited time free upgrade offer for qualified and
genuine Windows 7 and 8/8.1 devices. Hardware and software
requirements apply; see http://www.windows.com/windows10upgrade for
details.
2 Cortana available in select markets at launch;
experience may vary by region and device.
3 Windows Hello requires specialized hardware, including
fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric
sensors.
4 An Office 365 subscription is required to edit Office
apps on Windows 10 PCs or larger tablets.
5 Hardware dependent.
6 Some apps and content sold separately. App and content
availability and experience may vary by region and device.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.