In July 2014, Microsofts new CEO Satya Nadella explained that the company was planning to streamline the
next version of Windows from three operating systems
into one single converged operating system for screens
of all sizes, unifying Windows, Windows Phone, and
Windows Embedded around a common architecture and
a unied application ecosystem. However, Nadella stated
that these internal changes would not have any eect on
how the operating systems are marketed and sold.[11][12]
Screenshots of a Windows build which purported to be
Threshold were leaked in July 2014, showing the previously presented Start menu and windowed Windows
Store apps[4] followed by further screenshot in September
2014 of a build identifying itself as Windows Technical
Preview, numbered 9834, showing a new virtual desktop
system, a notication center, and a new File Explorer.[13]
Development
1.1 Announcement
2 FEATURES
Features
A major aspect of Windows 10 is a focus on harmonizing user experiences and functionality between dierent classes of devices, along with addressing shortcomings in the Windows user interface that was rst introduced in Windows 8.[16][17][23] Continuing with this pattern, the successor to Windows Phone 8.1 unveiled at
the same event is also branded as Windows 10, and will
share some user interface elements and apps with its PC
counterpart.[24]
and available inputs, can synchronize data between Windows 10 devices (including notications, credentials, and
allowing cross-platform multiplayer for games), and will
be distributed through a unied Windows Store. Developers can allow cross-buys, where purchased licenses
for an app apply to all of the users compatible devices,
rather than only the one they purchased on (i.e. a user
purchasing an app on PC is also entitled to use the smartphone version at no extra cost).[9][26][27] Windows 10 will
also allow web apps to be packaged as Windows apps for
distribution on Windows Store.[28]
2.3
menu on their titlebar.[16][23] In its place is Action Center, which displays notications and settings toggles. It is
accessed by clicking an icon in the system tray, or dragging from the right of the screen. Notications can be
synced between multiple devices.[24][29] The Settings app
(formerly PC Settings) was refreshed and now includes
more options that were previously exclusive to the desktop Control Panel.[30][31]
2.2
Windows 10 will incorporate multi-factor authentication technology based upon standards developed by the
FIDO Alliance.[32] The operating system includes improved support for biometric authentication through the
Windows Hello and Passport platforms; devices with
supported cameras (requiring infrared illumination) will
allow users to login with face or iris recognition, similarly to Kinect. Fingerprint recognition login is also available on devices with supported readers. Credentials are
stored locally and protected using asymmetric encryption. The Passport platform will allow networks, software and websites to authenticate users using either a PIN
or biometric login to verify their identity, without sending a password.[33] On the enterprise version of Windows
10, administrators can set up policies for the automatic
encryption of sensitive data, selectively block applications from accessing encrypted data, or even outright require all software to be signed with a Microsoft key.[32]
To reduce the storage footprint of the operating system,
Windows 10 will automatically compress system les.
The system can reduce the storage footprint of Windows
by approximately 1.5 GB for 32-bit systems and 2.6 GB
for 64-bit systems. The level of compression used will be
dependent on a performance assessment performed during installations or by OEMs, which will test how much
compression can be used without harming operating system performance. Furthermore, the Refresh and Reset
functions will use runtime system les instead, making a
separate recovery partition redundant, allowing patches
and updates to remain installed following the operation,
and further reducing the amount of space required for
Windows 10 by up to 12 GB. These functions replace the
"WIMBoot mode introduced on Windows 8.1 Update,
which allowed OEMs to congure low-capacity devices
with ash-based storage to use Windows system les out
of the compressed WIM image typically used for installation and recovery.[34][35][36] Windows 10 also includes
a related function in its Settings app known as Storage
Sense, which allows users to view a breakdown of how
their devices storage capacity is being used by dierent
types of les, and determine whether certain types of les
are saved to internal storage or an SD card by default.[37]
2.4.1 DirectX 12
Windows 10 will ship with DirectX 12 and WDDM
2.0.[52][53] Unveiled March 2014 at GDC, DirectX aims
to provide "console-level eciency with closer to the
metal access to hardware resources, and reduced CPU
and graphics driver overhead.[54][55] Most of the performance improvements will be achieved through low-level
programming APIs which can reduce single-threaded
CPU bottlenecking caused by abstraction through higher
level APIs, similar to other low-level rendering technologies such as AMD's Mantle[56]
3
3.1
3 RELEASE
Release
Preview releases
3.2
Public release
5
vironments where we respect the fact they want to test
and stabilize the environment for a long time.[77]
Terry Myerson explained that with these changes, Microsoft thought of Windows 10 as a service which
would be kept current for the supported lifetime of the
device, and that the question 'what version of Windows
are you running' will cease to make sense.[64][70][79]
Version history
System requirements
See also
List of operating systems
Comparison of operating systems
History of operating systems
History of Microsoft Windows
References
[1] Myerson, Terry (March 17, 2015). Windows 10 Launching This Summer in 190 Countries and 111 Languages.
Blogging Windows. Microsoft. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
[21] Windows 10: Cortana, a New Browser ...and Holograms?". PC Magazine. Zi Davis Media. Retrieved 24
January 2015.
REFERENCES
[22] Microsoft to detail 'next chapter' of Windows 10 on January 21. PC World. IDG. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
[41] Living on the Edge our next step in helping the web just
work. IEBlog. Microsoft. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
[26] Kevin, Gallo (March 2, 2015). A rst look at the Windows 10 universal app platform. Windows Blog. Microsoft. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
[46] Windows 10 will let you stream Xbox One games to any
Windows 10 PC or tablet. Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
[79] Myerson, Terry. The next generation of Windows: Windows 10. Windows blog. Microsoft. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
[61] Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for all users worldwide [Updated]". Ars Technica. Retrieved 18 March
2015.
[85] Aul, Gabe. We're rolling out our rst preview build
to the Windows Insider Program. Blogging Windows.
Microsoft. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
[77] Endler, Michael. Windows 10: 5 Unanswered Questions. InformationWeek. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
[96] Project Spartan gets its rst public outing in new Windows 10 build. Ars Technica. Cond Nast Digital. 30
March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
[97] Latest Windows 10 build bundles mysterious Bio Enrollment app.
[98] Before you install. windows.microsoft.com. Microsoft.
Retrieved 12 February 2015.
[99] Dev center: Windows Image File Boot (WimBoot)".
msdn.microsoft.com. Microsoft. Retrieved 12 February
2015.
[100] Windows 8 system requirements. Windows Help. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
[101] Windows 10 Minimum Hardware Requirements and Upgrade Paths Detailed. NDTV. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
[102] PAE/NX/SSE2 Support Requirement Guide for Windows 8. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
[103] What is PAE, NX, and SSE2 and why does my PC need
to support them to run Windows 8?". Windows Help. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
[104] Windows 10 to make the Secure Boot alt-OS lock out a
reality. Ars Technica. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
REFERENCES
8.1
Text
8.2
Images
8.3
Content license