14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft BUILD and Ignite are both over now, and although the company has shared quite an impressive amount of information on Windows 10 and its new products, there’s one big question that still remains without an answer.
How much are we going to pay for Windows 10 after the one-year free upgrade promo comes to an end?
As you’ve probably already heard, Windows 10 will be offered as a free upgrade to those running Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 on their computers, but this is only valid if the upgrade is performed during the first 12 months after launch.
In other words, if Windows 10 comes out in August, you have until August 2016 to upgrade to Windows 10. Otherwise, you might have to pay for the upgrade.
Windows XP, Windows Vista, and non-Windows users also have to pay to install Windows 10, but the company is yet to disclose any specifics on the pricing of the new operating system for all the people mentioned above. And this quite easily becomes a problem for companies that are still on Windows XP, for example, and are trying to put together plans to upgrade to Windows 10.
Pricing similar to Windows 8.1?
Here’s an interesting rumor we’ve heard recently, but take it with a grain of salt because Microsoft hasn’t said anything about such a plan and we haven’t been able to get a confirmation from any other source at the company.
Microsoft is currently pondering a promo that would make Windows 10 free of charge for those on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 not only in the 12 months after launch but at any time after that, in an attempt to bring more people to its new OS. This would lead to a bigger market share, which should help the company achieve its goal of 1 billion devices running Windows 10 by 2018.
But for enterprises and those on operating systems that are not eligible for the free upgrade, Microsoft could go for the same price as for Windows 8.1
The core Windows 8.1 license costs $119.99 (€90), whereas the Pro version is priced at $199.99 (€150). Certain discounts could be offered after launch, while Windows users coming from an older version, such as XP or Vista, could benefit from additional price cuts.
Microsoft is expected to share full details on Windows 10 pricing ahead of its public launch in July or August, so we’re not very far from the moment when we’ll finally find out how much we have to pay for the new OS after the free upgrade window closes.