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Microsoft Reveals Retail Prices of Windows 10 Consumer Editions

• By Kurt Mackie
• June 03, 2015

Microsoft on Monday gave a breakdown of Windows 10's estimated retail prices.

In a statement to Neowin, a Microsoft spokesperson said that Windows 10 edition prices will be the same as those of Windows 8.1. Those prices are:

• Windows 10 Home: $119
• Windows 10 Pro: $199
• Windows 10 Pro Pack (allows upgrade from Home to Pro): $99

Enterprise edition pricing wasn't mentioned. Microsoft will have Mobile, Industry and Education editions, too, so those details are yet to come.

Microsoft plans to release Windows 10 for tablets and PCs on July 29. However, outside of its statement to Neowin about retail pricing, Microsoft mostly hasn't answered direct questions about Windows 10 from the press, which is surprising, given its impending arrival.

What Microsoft has officially shared are Windows 10's main features and its system requirements, which are essentially unchanged since Windows Vista. Microsoft claims that "if your PC can run Windows 8.1, you're good to go." Microsoft has also disclosed the edition names of Windows 10, but so far has not spelled out exactly which features will be associated with those editions.

Windows 10 will arrive with automatic update system turned on, with only the Pro and Enterprise edition users having the capability to defer feature updates. Microsoft described three new Windows 10 servicing models at its Ignite conference last month. The "current branch" update model will be like the automatic Windows Update service familiar to consumers for Home and Pro edition Windows 10 users. There also will be a "current branch for business" approach (available for Pro and Enterprise editions) that will allow organizations to defer feature updates to a degree. Lastly, there will be a "long-term servicing branch" (Enterprise edition only) that allows features to deferred for about two or three years but not security updates.

Microsoft has suggested that most apps that ran on Windows 7 are expected to work on Windows 10. However, some apps won't be available after the upgrade to Windows 10, namely Media Center, Windows 7 desktop gadgets and Windows Live Essentials.

Windows 10 Upgrade Q&A
To fill in the gaps in the publicly available knowledge about Windows 10, Microsoft MVP Andre Da Costa has been answering Windows 10 upgrade questions this week (Microsoft's MVP designation is for professionals working outside of Microsoft). Da Costa fielded many basic Windows 10 upgrade questions in a Microsoft community forum page devoted to that topic. Here are summarized questions and Da Costa's answers, which may or may not represent Microsoft's positions.

Will the free upgrade to "Windows 10 as a service" mean that it will just be free for a year, and then you'll have to pay for it after that time?
Da Costa said that Windows 10 is not a subscription service and that the free upgrade promotional offer, which is good within a year of Windows 10's release, will not require payments after that initial one year's time. This interpretation, while likely true, may or may not conflict with past Microsoft statements. Many reporters heard Microsoft officials say that the free upgrade was just free for a year, but Microsoft seems to have since deleted those kinds of statements from its blogs and transcripts.

What are the upgrade paths to Windows 10?
Da Costa posted an "Upgrade Matrix" clip from a Microsoft WinHEC session indicating which Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 versions can move to Windows 10. Essentially, users have to upgrade to Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8.1 to get the update for desktop devices.

There are few details about a Windows Phone 8/8.1 upgrade to Windows 10 at this point, but Microsoft implied back in May that the phone upgrade would arrive later than the July 29 Windows 10 rollout for PCs and laptops. In a blog post, Gabe Aul, lead of the data and fundamentals team for Microsoft's Operating Systems Group, implied that users would have to upgrade to Windows Phone 8.1 first to get the Windows 10 update. "For phones, Windows 10 will arrive later this year -- both on new devices and also upgrades for existing Windows Phone 8.1 devices," Aul wrote. "Even though Windows 10 will be arriving for phones later than it does for PCs, the underlying OS code is still the same."

Will the free Windows 10 upgrade notice be sent to my organization's end users?
Da Costa commented that "domain joined computers should not be receiving the update at all." However, eligible individuals or consumers are already seeing a "reservation app" notice. It appears on the system tray side of a Windows 7 desktop, for instance, and looks like this:

Will domain-joined machines running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 Pro editions be eligible for the free upgrade if they're not volume licensed but just run at a small business?
Da Costa said that "they will qualify, but you will have to log into a local Administrator account and initiate the upgrade." He also clarified in another post that organizations with multiple devices to upgrade would need to establish upgrade reservations for "each of your eligible Windows devices." Da Costa noted that while that's "not a suitable procedure...it's the only option available."

What are the Windows 10 Editions and features?
There will be three editions -- Home, Pro and Enterprise -- with some Mobile, Industry (embedded) and Education variants, although their specific features weren't described in any great detail at the time when Microsoft announced the edition names. However, Da Costa produced this table with far more details about the Windows 10 edition features than previously described by Microsoft. For instance, his table shows that Windows 10 Pro will have features such as BitLocker, Remote Access Services, a Group Policy editor and Windows Update for Business. Windows 10 Enterprise will have those features plus a Long Term Servicing Branch option and Device Guard. Da Costa also indicated that organizations will have greater flexibility with Windows 10 licensing when buying machines with OEM licenses: "For the first time, Microsoft will make it possible for managed IT environments to upgrade factory preinstalled OEM licenses whether it is consumer or business editions to volume license upgrades without formatting the device."

Will Windows Insider testers of the Windows 10 preview be able to upgrade to the final release?
Da Costa said it will be a free upgrade for Windows Insiders testers to the RTM (release to manufacturing) build of Windows 10. However, to qualify for a free upgrade to the final Windows 10 version, users need to upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1.

Which features won't be available after upgrading to Windows 10?
Da Costa listed them as follows:

• Windows Media Center
• DVD playback
• Desktop gadgets
• Preinstalled games
• Floppy drive support
• Windows Live Essentials (Windows Essentials)
• Windows Updates
• Windows Virtual PC with Windows XP Mode

He added that there's no substitute for Media Center, but Microsoft will provide a "free DVD playback app" in Windows 10. He also suggested using Hyper-V or Oracle VirtualBox as a substitute for Virtual PC with Windows XP Mode. Also, the free Windows 10 upgrade removes the traditional Windows Update control by end users over which updates get installed.

Which Microsoft Office suites will run on Windows 10?
Da Costa indicated that these versions with the latest service packs are confirmed as Windows 10 compatible: "Office 2016 Preview, Office 2013/Office 365, Office 2010 and Office 2007." He added that "older versions...might work using compatibility mode." In another post, he noted that Microsoft Office doesn't come free with Windows 10, although there will be free Windows 10 Office apps that have limited features. Microsoft typically offers more complete Office apps for Windows systems through its Office 365 subscription plans, which is the expected route for commercial use of those apps.

More details can be found in Da Costa's Windows 10 FAQ.