AMD's president and CEO Lisa Su inadvertently confirmed Microsoft's target summer release date, stating there will be a "windows 10 launch at the end of July" during an investor call.
This does raise questions around the possibility of a Consumer Preview build being unveiled ahead of launch.
Microsoft has also revealed its plans for upgrading Windows 7 and 8.1 users. Issuing a patch to its older OSs, Microsoft will let users know they need a fully updated Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 machine to receive the free upgrade once available.
If rumours are to be believed, there could be two versions of Windows 10 released to consumers this year. Amid rumours about next year's Windows Redstone release, Mary J Foley atZDNet has claimed that Windows 10 will be released in two waves.
The first release will arrive in June, as confirmed by Microsoft in its announcement to OEMs, and a second release will come in the autumn. The autumn update, which could come in October, will be significant, but not groundbreaking, and will be preceded by several smaller updates in the interim. This would fit with Microsoft's stated plan to speed up its update timetable and break with its history of releasing totally new versions of the Windows OS every few years. There has been no confirmation from Microsoft on this matter, however.
Regardless of those rumoured plans, Microsoft has announced it will be releasing one new Technical Preview update a month ahead of final release.
Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones is available to download too.
Writing on Microsoft’s official blog, engineering general manager Gabe Aul explained why updates have been rolling out so slowly.
"We’ve probably been too conservative about pushing builds to the Fast ring for Windows Insiders," admitted Aul. "The reality is that faster builds to you will include more bugs, and so far we’ve erred on the side of stability."
"We’ve not had as much distinction between Fast and Slow," explained Aul. "In our internal rings, our Canary ring probably sees 2X-3X as many builds as OSG because we catch problems in Canary and don’t push to OSG."
Thankfully Microsoft is speeding up this process for “Fast” lane Insiders.
Windows 10 price
Good news for everyone running Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade upon launch, providing you make the shift within 12 months.
Windows Phone 8.1 users will also be able to upgrade to Windows 10 free for a year after launch, and yes, that is the full version of Windows 10.
Microsoft is bringing a unified approach to its operating systems from now on, meaning the same OS will work across desktops,laptops, tablets, hybrids, phones, phablets and, eventually, Xbox, adjusting automatically for each device's screen size and automatically detecting whether a keyboard and mouse are present.
What's uncertain, however, is how Windows pricing will work in the future, and Microsoft has been very vague on this matter.
While clearly those moving either from older versions of Windows or from totally different operating systems will have to pay for a licence, it's unclear if all further Windows updates will be free to existing customers, or if they'll have to pay a subscription fee. All should be revealed at the official launch.
Rumours around a subscription-based model have certainly picked up thanks to a trademark filing from Microsoft. Spotted byNeowin, the trademark was submitted to the US Patent and Trademark office on 29 January this year. It covers a whole range of features, including streaming and video-on-demand services, email and IM, and educational services.
The most intriguing features listed are “operating software as a service (OSAAS)... desktop-as-a-service (DAAS),cloud services… [and] providing temporary use of non-downloadable software”.
It’s unlikely that such a pricing model will be put in place by Windows 10’s launch, but this could be Microsoft preparing for the future. Although Microsoft will never fully opt for a "Freemium" model.
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