Windows 10 available in 190 countries as a free upgrade

People and organizations can do great things with Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Xbox App, new Office Universal apps and more.

SINGAPORE, July 29, 2015 — Microsoft Corp. announced that Windows 10 will become available Wednesday as a free upgrade1 or with new PCs and tablets. Windows 10 includes innovations such as Windows Hello 2, Cortana,3 an Xbox app and Microsoft Edge for a familiar, yet more personal and productive, experience. The most secure Windows ever, Windows 10 is delivered as a service and kept automatically up-to-date with innovations and security updates. Windows 10 offers one experience that will become available on the broadest range of devices, including PCs, tablets, phones, Raspberry Pi, Xbox One, HoloLens and more — with more than 2,000 devices or configurations already in testing. The new Windows Store and Windows Software Development Kit also become available Wednesday, opening the door to new and innovative app experiences on Windows 10.

People around the world will celebrate the launch of Windows 10 Wednesday at fan celebrations in 13 countries including Singapore, Sydney, India, China and Japan via a new year long initiative to celebrate people and organizations making a difference around the world. Microsoft encourages people to share how they plan to #UpgradeYourWorld and to vote for a global nonprofit to receive a cash donation by simply mentioning the nonprofit in a post on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and using the hashtags #UpgradeYourWorld and #vote. More information on Upgrade Your World can be found at http://www.windows.com/upgradeyourworld.

“A new era of Windows starts today. From the beginning, Windows 10 has been unique — built with feedback from over 5 million fans, delivered as a service and offered as a free upgrade,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices Group, at Microsoft. “Windows 10 delivers on our more personal computing vision, with a natural, mobile and trusted experience. Along with our partners, we’re excited to deliver the best Windows ever, which will empower people and organizations around the world to do great things.”

Windows 10: Best Windows ever
Windows 10 is fast and familiar — with the return of the Start menu and Live Tiles for instant, streaming updates of what matters most. Windows 10 is the most secure Windows Microsoft has ever released, with enhancements to Windows Defender and SmartScreen to help safeguard against viruses, malware and phishing and innovations such as Windows Hello, which offers a fast, secured, password-free way to log in. Keeping up-to-date is also simple, as free updates will help people stay current with the latest features and security updates for the supported lifetime of the device.

Windows 10 is more personal and productive, with voice, pen and gesture inputs for natural interaction with PCs. It’s designed to work with Office and Skype and allows you to switch between apps and stay organized with Snap and Task View. Windows 10 offers many innovative experiences and devices, including the following:

  • Cortana, the personal digital assistant, makes it easy to find the right information at the right time (currently available in Australia, China, India and Japan)
  • New Microsoft Edge browser lets people quickly browse, read, and mark up and share the Web.
  • The integrated Xbox app delivers the Xbox experience to Windows 10, bringing together friends, games and accomplishments across Xbox One and Windows 10 devices.
  • Continuum optimizes apps and experiences beautifully across touch and desktop modes.
  • Built-in apps including Photos; Maps; Microsoft’s new music app, Groove; and Movies & TV offer entertainment and productivity options. With OneDrive, files can be easily shared and kept up-to-date across all devices.
  • A Microsoft Phone Companion app enables iPhones, Android or Windows phones to work seamlessly with Windows 10 devices.
  • The all new Office Mobile apps for Windows 10 tablets are available today in the Windows Store.4 Built for work on-the-go, the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps offer a consistent, touch-first experience for small tablets. For digital note-taking needs, the full-featured OneNote app comes pre-installed with Windows 10. The upcoming release of the Office desktop apps (Office 2016) will offer the richest feature set for professional content creation. Designed for the precision of a keyboard and mouse, these apps will be optimized for large-screen PCs, laptops and 2-in-1 devices such as the Surface Pro.

Windows 10: Best platform for businesses
Feedback from millions of IT pros has shaped Windows 10, the most extensively tested version of Windows ever. Ready for corporate deployments, Windows 10 will help companies protect against modern cyberattacks, deliver experiences their employees will love and enable continuous innovation with a platform that keeps companies up-to-date with the latest technology. Businesses will be able to control the frequency of their updates and select the features and functionality that are right for each group of their employees.

Windows 10 includes built-in, enterprise-grade security, so customers can replace passwords with more secure options, protect corporate data and corporate identities, and run only the software they trust. New management and deployment tools simplify device management, help lower costs, and enable companies to power their business with the enterprise strength of the Microsoft Azure cloud.

Top apps available on Windows 10
The new Windows Store will open Wednesday and begin accepting new apps for Windows 10. The Windows Store offers one-stop shopping for popular free and paid apps, games, movies, TV shows and the latest music, which can work across all Windows 10 devices. The new Windows Store is the only store where people can use Cortana to control apps with their voice5 and get real-time notifications on their app tiles. All Windows Store content is certified by Microsoft to help keep devices safer. In addition to existing Windows 8.1 apps such as Netflix, Flipboard, Mint.com, “Asphalt 8: Airborne” and The Weather Channel, the Windows Store provides a constant stream of new and updated Universal Windows Apps and games, including Twitter, “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta,” Hulu, iHeartRadio, USA TODAY, “Candy Crush Saga” and others including WeChat and QQ, which will launch soon.6

Guenter Weimer, General Manager, Windows and Surface, Microsoft Asia Pacific said: “We have a bold vision for Windows 10, where it provides consumers and enterprises with one platform, one store and one experience that extends across the broadest range of devices. In the era of more personal computing, Windows 10 users can expect universal apps delivering seamless and new experiences across devices.

“In a recent poll of leading developers across eight markets in Asia Pacific, we found that 78% of the developer community said that they are likely to be developing apps for Windows 10. We are excited to be launching the Windows 10 Software Development Kit today in Asia Pacific, where we see incredible opportunities for developers to reach out to millions of Windows 10 users in this region.”

Easy upgrade, devices now available
Upgrading to Windows 10 is easy for customers running a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC or tablet. Starting Wednesday, people who reserved their upgrade to Windows 10 will be notified in waves when their upgrade is ready to be installed. For business customers, Windows 10 is available to start deploying within their work environments, and starting Aug. 1, organizations that have volume licensing can upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education.

Retail partners are ready to help people upgrade to Windows 10 with our largest tech bench program ever, including more than 100,000 trained retailers and tens of thousands of stores around the world. Free upgrade programs will be available Wednesday, with Windows 10 software becoming broadly available in retail stores around the world between mid-August and September. Devices running Windows 10 will be available in some retail stores on Wednesday, with many, many more devices to become available in the weeks and months ahead.

“We are committed to bringing Windows 10 to as many consumers and organizations as possible in Asia Pacific in the coming months. In addition to the online upgrades, we are working with over 50 leading IT retailers in the region to set up more than 800 Tech Bench locations where consumers can look forward to getting help to migrate from Windows 7 and 8 to the best Windows ever. For consumers and businesses looking for the latest Windows 10 devices, we are excited to announce that we will have the widest range of Windows hardware ever available by this holiday season,” said Mr. Weimer.

Information on upgrading, new and compatible devices, and apps for Windows can be found at http://www.windows.com. Additional information and media assets are available at http://blogs.windows.com/launch.

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1 Limited time free upgrade offer for qualified and genuine Windows 7 and 8/8.1 devices. Hardware and software requirements apply; see http://www.windows.com/windows10upgrade for details.
2 Windows Hello requires specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors.
3 Cortana available in Australia, China, Japan and India in Asia Pacific. Experience may vary by region and device.
4 An Office 365 subscription is required to edit Office apps on Windows 10 PCs or larger tablets.
5 Hardware dependent.
6 Some apps and content sold separately. App and content availability and experience may vary by region and device.

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.


 Windows 10 Quote Sheet – Asia Pacific

 

Microsoft
Guenter Weimer, General Manager, Windows & Surface, Microsoft Asia Pacific

On Microsoft’s commitment to Asia Pacific:
“We are committed to bringing Windows 10 to as many consumers and organizations as possible in Asia Pacific in the coming months. In addition to the online upgrades, we are working with some 50 leading IT retailers in the region to set up over 800 Tech Bench locations where consumers can look forward to getting help to migrate from Windows 7 and 8 to the best Windows ever. For consumers and businesses looking for the latest Windows 10 devices, we are excited to announce that we would have the widest range of Windows hardware ever available by this holiday season.”

On launching the Windows 10 Software Development Kit in Asia Pacific:
“We have a bold vision for Windows 10, where it provides consumers and enterprises with one platform, one store and one experience that extends across the broadest range of devices. In the era of more personal computing, Windows 10 users can expect universal apps delivering seamless and new experiences across devices. In a recent poll of leading developers across Asia Pacific, we found that 78% of the developer community are likely to be developing apps for Windows 10. Hence, we are excited to be launching the Windows 10 Software Development Kit today in Asia Pacific, where we see incredible opportunities for developers to reach out to millions of Windows 10 users in this region.”

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Microsoft Singapore
Jessica Tan, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore
“Windows 10 is built to enable people and organisations to do great things and the launch of Windows 10 today marks a new era for computing in Singapore and around the world. New innovations on Windows 10 make computing more personal, productive and secure whether you are a consumer, student, professional or business.

Microsoft is excited that Windows 10 is resonating well from the feedback of over 5 million Windows Insiders and the overwhelming reservations from users. We are also looking forward to the opportunities to work with our developers, retail and devices partners to create new apps, services, devices and experiences for Windows 10. Starting from today, Windows 10 is available as a free upgrade for all Windows 7 and 8 users for one year and we encourage all to upgrade today.”

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App Developer
Greg Hauw, CEO, Ohanae, Singapore
“We are excited about the launch of Windows 10 and the opportunity for us to bring our apps to a billion Windows devices across PCs, tablets and phones, which also means greater exposure of our app in the Store. With the Universal Windows Platform, we are now able to develop more easily for Windows devices using the same code to multiple device types, and offer our encryption app to even more users in the near future. We look forward to launching Ohanae for Windows 10 in the Windows Store this fall.”

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IDC
Bryan Ma, Vice President of Client Devices, IDC Asia/Pacific and Worldwide
“Microsoft has really gotten its act together with Windows 10, and we think Microsoft can beat its self-stated goal of reaching 1 billion Windows 10 devices in 2-3 years. Not only is the UI much more polished and intuitive for consumers, the company has also worked very closely with the critical commercial user segment to get the OS to where it needed to be.”

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IBRS
Joe Sweeney, Advisor
“Microsoft’s consumer-led strategy will likely be successful migrating the public to Windows 10 more rapidly than previous Windows releases. In turn, this will drive the demand for enterprise IT groups to support Windows 10 in 6-18 months’ time. While Windows 10 is a relatively painless update from a technical perspective, a simple upgrade is not IBRS’s recommendation. Instead, enterprise IT groups should fundamentally rethink the idea of a desktop-centric work environment, and develop a digital workspaces strategy that embraces all the places, devices, and times where work is done. Armed with this knowledge, the scope of Windows 10, among other tools and technologies, can be used to transform the business, rather than simply repeating the past practices.”

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Intel
Nick Jacobs, Industry Marketing, Intel Asia Pacific & Japan
“The launch of Windows 10 is an exciting moment for Microsoft and the whole technology industry. Intel looks forward to bringing new computing experiences for consumers across Asia Pacific with the combination of Intel® processors and Windows 10.”

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Windows Insider
Wan Ahmad Farhan bin Wan Ahmad Shabri Zainuddin, Malaysia
“I was one of the 10 lucky Windows Insiders who had the opportunity to win a trip to the Microsoft Headquarters earlier this year, and it was a truly amazing experience meeting with the Microsoft team and to learn how they had built Windows 10 from ground up, while keeping the best features of Windows 7 and 8. It was also an honor to see that the Windows engineering team had taken into consideration feedback and ideas from Insiders like myself. I believe that there’s something for everyone to love about Windows 10 in the rollout starting today,”

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