Microsoft: Windows 10 will be free for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 users for 1 year after launch

Zac Bowden

Windows 10

Microsoft has announced at its January 21st event that all Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 for the first year of its launch. This is big news indeed, as it means almost all Windows users can get an update to the latest version of Windows at no-cost!

Microsoft claims that over 650 million people have upgraded to Windows 7 SP1, and all those people will get Windows 10 for free. 200 million people updated to Windows 8.1 Update, and they’ll also be getting Windows 10 for free.

Windows Phone 8.1 users will get an update for Windows 10 also, which is excellent news. As Microsoft explains, this is more than a one-time upgrade.

“This is more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device – at no additional charge. With Windows 10, the experience will evolve and get even better over time. We’ll deliver new features when they’re ready, not waiting for the next major release. We think of Windows as a Service – in fact, one could reasonably think of Windows in the next couple of years as one of the largest Internet services on the planet,” Microsoft explains.