Windows 10 was downloaded onto 14 million devices on the first day of its release. In a blog post Yusuf Mehfi, head of Windows marketing at Microsoft, wrote, “[W]e’re humbled and grateful to see the response to Windows 10”.
Microsoft is aiming to reach 1 billion devices in two-three years. Eventually, however, the company is surely hoping to get everyone onto the same version of its OS – because Windows 10 is currently planned to be the last major update, ever.
That doesn’t mean that Microsoft is killing Windows. Instead, smaller updates will be rolled out more regularly, rather than a single large update every few years. The company has been able to achieve this by making its software more modular: for instance, the Start menu and built-in apps can be updated separately from the core OS.
Reviews for Windows 10 have been largely positive, with praise for the ‘personal assistant’ Cortana, Internet Explorer-replacement browser Microsoft Edge and the integration of Start menu and live tiles. Some criticisms have been levelled, notably by Chris Beard (CEO of Mozilla), for making it difficult to use non-Microsoft web browsers.
IHS’ Ian Fogg has written about Windows 10 and Windows Mobile. He notes that, “Microsoft has lost the smartphone OS war to iOS and Android. Now, Microsoft is pursuing a strategy clearly inspired by that understanding. It is prioritising the PC version of Windows 10 for delivery first, not mobile”.
Fogg also criticised Windows 10 for smartphones (although it isn’t actually available yet). He said that, in trying to making its mobile OS a “mimic” of the desktop version, “Microsoft again risks a lowest common denominator experience with the smartphone weakened as a result of [the OS] not being fully optimised for the phone”.
In related news, Microsoft has announced the Windows Phone handsets that will be the first to have an upgrade to Windows 10 available – although has still not said when that will happen.
The first smartphones to have an upgrade option will be the Lumia 430, 435, 532, 535, 540, 640, 640 XL, 735, 830 and 930. All Lumia handsets will eventually be able to upgrade, though.
