Microsoft Details Windows 10 Staggered Release Schedule
by Brett Howse on April 30, 2015 6:15 PM EST- Posted in
- Software
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Today at a special breakout session, Corporate VP of the Operating Systems Group Joe Belfiore confirmed that the launch schedule for Windows 10 is going to be summer (he would go no more specific than that) but that it will be a staggered release. Those in the insider program may be aware that builds for the desktop PC are quite a bit ahead of those on the phone, and Joe said some of that is due to Windows 8.1 on the phone coming out later than 8.1 on the PC.
But there is a lot more to Windows 10 than just phone and PC. Xbox is there, IoT, and Surface Hub are other examples of where Microsoft is trying to push Windows 10, and there will almost certainly be a staggered rollout on those devices as well.
Joe also stated that they are already working with mobile operators in order to get to work on a schedule for existing devices, and as many of us know, mobile operators can drastically increase the time to market on mobile devices, so it is important to get to work on this now. Whether or not this helps or not will still have to be seen.
There will be new hardware for phones too, but they would not go into any details on when this might happen, or what kind of hardware they are looking at. Some of the demos yesterday, like Continuum on phone, will require new hardware which can display on multiple screens at the same time.
In the same vein, even when Windows 10 does launch, it will not be feature complete. Things like Extensions, which are coming to the new Edge browser, will not be available at launch but will come in a future update. Since Edge is going to be updated through the store, at least this will be easy. Other features like Win32 apps coming as Windows Store apps will also be later in the cycle.
So this will really be unlike any other Windows rollout, because so many parts of the system have been moved to being able to updated through the store. This will allow the core Windows 10 experience to be completed, but necessary feature updates should be able to be seamlessly added over time.
One other interesting note from the meeting was that the Insider Program will not be going away once Windows 10 launches. There will still be several rings that Insiders can participate in to get quicker updates, even if the feature is not quite ready for prime time. This should also apply to the phone as well which should help alleviate some of the upgrade woes depending on the particular mobile operator.
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Zak - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
Yeah, but I'd rather pay and have good OS rather than incomplete, ad-supported, "you-shouldn't-complain-because-its-free" system.Chaitanya - Saturday, May 2, 2015 - link
Its free only for its first year, not sure what M$ will charge after first 12 months.damianrobertjones - Saturday, May 2, 2015 - link
Ah no... You might need to buy a new keyboard as, instead of S, you've typed $MrSpadge - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
If they add some good feature a year after launch, will you:- complain that it didn't ship initially, suggesting they should have waited another year?
- prefer they'd move it into the next version and make you pay again for it?
- just take it for what it is and use it or not depending on personal preference?
(I'm only talking about features here, stability is crucial starting the first day after release)
Lonyo - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
Um, depends. What is Windows 10?Would you say Windows 7 wasn't ready because it shipped with IE8 and then IE9, 10 and 11 got released and run on it?
Conflating software with core OS features is a bit of a misnomer. Backporting support for apps to the Store isn't a core feature or OS specific thing, it's something that gives greater Store support, and presumably might also work on Windows 8 (if you haven't done the free upgrade).
What is "ready" for an OS?
Windows 8.1 was an update to Windows 8 that changed a bunch of things. Windows has had service packs historically as well.
Alexvrb - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
They've moving a more gradual release cycle similar to other platforms. Would you rather they released it with these features not yet available, and save them for Windows 11 so they can charge you for them? I like the fact that they're continually adding and improving after release. No different than what we're used to by now in the mobile and console markets.FlushedBubblyJock - Sunday, May 3, 2015 - link
How could microsoft release win 8 one of it's best customizable features that all users I have ever seen learn to change/control - the desktop backround, MISSING from the "home screen".I mean that is how thick they have become. It's really unimaginable how careless and out of touch it was.
jeffrey620 - Monday, August 3, 2015 - link
Windows 8 is a nice OS. Declined sales is also in part to the learning cure or just don't want to adapt to, or the changes that come when new OS's comes out.jjj - Thursday, April 30, 2015 - link
Any clue on SoC support beside Qualcomm on the phone side?I know they won't support Mediatek (at least anytime soon) and it seems they will support Intel but not 100% certain about Intel yet.
Paul Tarnowski - Thursday, April 30, 2015 - link
I remember reading a rumor about the 940 having an Intel chip, but I doubt there's going to be word on specifics before the hardware is announced.