14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced that the July 29 end date of the free Windows 10 upgrade promo does not apply to users with assistive technologies, so they’ll continue to be allowed to install the new operating system without paying for a license.
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that it sticks to its original plan of allowing users running Windows 7 or 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge for one year after the launch of the new OS, so this offer will end as originally said on July 29.
Beyond this date, everyone who wants to upgrade to Windows 10 from a Windows 7 or 8.1 computer would have to pay for a license. Windows 10 Home will cost $119 (110 EUR), just like it was the case of the Home edition of Windows 8.1.
More info on how to upgrade very soon
But customers who are using assistive technologies, such as screen readers, will continue to benefit from the free upgrade offer even past this date, the company revealed today.
“As you may have heard, the free Windows 10 upgrade offer for customers running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 is set to end on July 29, but we want to clarify that that deadline will *not* apply to customers who use assistive technologies. We are continuing to deliver on our previously-shared vision for accessibility for Windows 10 and we are committed to ensuring that users of assistive technologies have the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 10 for free as we do so,” Microsoft said.
The software giant hasn’t yet provided details on how exactly users running Windows with assistive technologies can take advantage of the free offer, but it promised to release more information in the coming weeks.
Windows 10 is already running on 300 million devices across the world and Microsoft has a plan of bringing it on 1 billion by 2017. Redmond says it’s still on track to achieve this goal, and many users are expected to upgrade their PCs to Windows 10 at the very last minute, thus boosting these figures even more.