Microsoft Details Windows 10 Staggered Release Schedule
by Brett Howse on April 30, 2015 6:15 PM EST- Posted in
- Software
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Today at a special breakout session, Corporate VP of the Operating Systems Group Joe Belfiore confirmed that the launch schedule for Windows 10 is going to be summer (he would go no more specific than that) but that it will be a staggered release. Those in the insider program may be aware that builds for the desktop PC are quite a bit ahead of those on the phone, and Joe said some of that is due to Windows 8.1 on the phone coming out later than 8.1 on the PC.
But there is a lot more to Windows 10 than just phone and PC. Xbox is there, IoT, and Surface Hub are other examples of where Microsoft is trying to push Windows 10, and there will almost certainly be a staggered rollout on those devices as well.
Joe also stated that they are already working with mobile operators in order to get to work on a schedule for existing devices, and as many of us know, mobile operators can drastically increase the time to market on mobile devices, so it is important to get to work on this now. Whether or not this helps or not will still have to be seen.
There will be new hardware for phones too, but they would not go into any details on when this might happen, or what kind of hardware they are looking at. Some of the demos yesterday, like Continuum on phone, will require new hardware which can display on multiple screens at the same time.
In the same vein, even when Windows 10 does launch, it will not be feature complete. Things like Extensions, which are coming to the new Edge browser, will not be available at launch but will come in a future update. Since Edge is going to be updated through the store, at least this will be easy. Other features like Win32 apps coming as Windows Store apps will also be later in the cycle.
So this will really be unlike any other Windows rollout, because so many parts of the system have been moved to being able to updated through the store. This will allow the core Windows 10 experience to be completed, but necessary feature updates should be able to be seamlessly added over time.
One other interesting note from the meeting was that the Insider Program will not be going away once Windows 10 launches. There will still be several rings that Insiders can participate in to get quicker updates, even if the feature is not quite ready for prime time. This should also apply to the phone as well which should help alleviate some of the upgrade woes depending on the particular mobile operator.
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Manch - Saturday, May 2, 2015 - link
PCWorld mag had an article about atom x3 in low end phones. Dual core and Quad core versions, both with Mali GPUStochastic - Thursday, April 30, 2015 - link
I'm assuming they're pushing for a summer release to try and target the back-to-school market. I wonder if Skylake will be ready in time.vailr - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
Did they mention anything aboout retail or OEM pricing of Windows 10, for someone building a new Windows machine? Hopefully, they'd try and stay cost competitive with simply buying a copy of Windows 7 and then getting the free upgrade.Krysto - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
In other words, Windows 10 is far from ready.Lonyo - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
Um, depends. What is Windows 10?Would you say Windows 7 wasn't ready because it shipped with IE8 and then IE9, 10 and 11 got released and run on it?
Conflating software with core OS features is a bit of a misnomer. Backporting support for apps to the Store isn't a core feature or OS specific thing, it's something that gives greater Store support, and presumably might also work on Windows 8 (if you haven't done the free upgrade).
What is "ready" for an OS?
Windows 8.1 was an update to Windows 8 that changed a bunch of things. Windows has had service packs historically as well.
FlushedBubblyJock - Sunday, May 3, 2015 - link
windows 10 is windows 7 with msft bloated apps taking over, and a dolloped win8 pastel turd smeared on the screenmedi03 - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
I wish Win10 gains traction and that porting from IoS/Android to Win10 is as easy as they promise.Having Apple as Google Android only alternative with serious app store is like having no alternative at all, if you are not into fashion gadgets.
lilmoe - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
I'd rather wait for the usual release dates in fall..... Microsoft are in a rush again. Don't mess it up please. Release more features to the insider program and test them there first before the major update. I'd still rather wait even if they plan to release those services as beta to insiders first.Oxford Guy - Sunday, May 3, 2015 - link
It's probably just going to be dribbleware. "Windows 10" will come out but it will look a lot like a modified 8.1 until various things are rolled out over time.FlushedBubblyJock - Sunday, May 3, 2015 - link
Joe is obviously stoned out of his mind, doesn't shower and doesn't comb his hair, and can't shave properly, a scruffbucket.That's windows 10.