Microsoft’s next brainchild is just around the corner and heading up for release this week as a massive update to every Windows 7 and upwards. This plataform promises to work with just any device, and improve user experience – although the last few months have seen a surge in rumors questioning how the many versions work, whether it’s really going to be free, and system requirements. Don’t worry, we’ve got your answers here.

Will it be free?

Windows 10 will be released tomorrow, the 29th of July. From this date onwards, you will have a year to update your device for free, as long as you’re running a Windows 7 or Windows 8 device. After this period, upgrading will have a cost depending on your version.

System requirements

In order to update, it’s important that you are running the latest version of your OS, whether it is Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update. When it comes to the hardware side of things, you will need 1 GHz, 1 GB RAM for the 32 bits version and 2 GB for the 64 bits one; along with 16 GB in your drive for the 32 bits version and 20 GB for 64 bits. Also, you need to have a DirectX 9 compatible video card with WDDM 1.0 and a 1024 X 600 screen.

Windows 10 editions

• Windows 10 Home: Available for PCs and mobile devices for home. Includes Microsoft Edge and Windows Hello for facial recognition. Suggested price is $119 USD.
• Windows 10 Pro: A complement for the previous version, it will allow users to connect to other domains and use Windows Update for Business. It’s the equivalent of Windows 8 Pro. Suggested price is $199 USD.
• Windows 10 Mobile: It will replace Windows Phone, and include optimized tactile versions of Office along with mobile exclusive features.
• Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise: It’s a variant of Windows 10 Mobile, but designed for companies with smartphone & tablets licenses.

Windows Insider program

All Windows users on the Windows Insider program will get access to it even after a year. They will get to try the new betas and builds before anyone else. For everyone else, it will have a cost.

Updating

Keep in mind this is a world-wide update, and probably won’t be available for all users from the get go, as soon as the calendar hits the 29th. Once it’s ready, users will get a notification and will be able to schedule the update date if they wish to update at another time.

If you made the reservation in the previous months, you might have noticed there’s been updates. This is basically Microsoft getting rid of files, setting up the stage to have a clear installation. When it comes to the update itself, it might take 20 minutes in newer computers to an hour on older machines.

In theory, there should be no loss of files with this update, but you should back up all of your important files regardless – because no matter what, that is always a good idea.

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