14 DAY TRIAL // As we reported to you yesterday, Gabriel Aul, head of the Windows Insider program, revealed that Windows 10 would be free for those who installed the technical preview builds on their PCs, but with no other specifics being provided, many rushed to believe that the new OS would become available at no charge for absolutely everyone.
Obviously, that scenario was pretty much impossible, given the fact that it would be very easy for anyone to install the preview and then upgrade to Windows 10 RTM without actually contributing to the insider program, so Microsoft has come back today to provide more information on this offer.
Gabe Aul has confirmed that Windows 10 RTM upgrades won’t be available for everyone, but only for those upgrading from a valid Windows 7 or Windows 8 or 8.1 license.
What’s more, the offer will continue to be available only if the upgrade is performed in the first 12 months after the release, so it all sounds like the main promo that Microsoft is planning to launch for anyone running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.
RTM in June
And yet, insiders still have something to be happy about because Microsoft plans to update them to RTM first and only then allow everyone else to install the operating system.
So if you’re an insider right now, chances are that you’re going to be in the first wave of Windows 10 upgrades and you’ll get the final bits of the operating system before everyone else.
Windows 10 RTM is expected to be announced in June, two months before the rumored general availability in August or in late July. Microsoft is yet to confirm these dates, but the company has already said that it wants to release Windows 10 in the summer, and August would be pretty much the last month to do it.
@ImXeeon It will be a free upgrade from a valid Win7 or 8.x license, within the first year of release.
— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) May 11, 2015