Microsoft has used its Ignite 2015 conference to declare Windows 10 will be “the last version of Windows”.
The statement came from Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon, a self proclaimed ‘developer evangelist’ who stated: “Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10.”
So what is going on? Is Windows 10 really the end?
The simplistic response is: No. Windows is not going anywhere. What is now clearly and undeniably changing, however, is how Microsoft will brand, develop, update and expect us to pay for Windows after Windows 10.
“Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner, with continuous value for our consumer and business customers,” explained Microsoft in its full statement to the Verge. “We aren’t speaking to future branding at this time, but customers can be confident Windows 10 will remain up-to-date and power a variety of devices from PCs to phones to Surface Hub to HoloLens and Xbox. We look forward to a long future of Windows innovations.”
Extract the marketing speak and what the future appears to be is ‘Windows’ – no version number, just ‘Windows’.
This will be a single, homogenous entity powering all hardware Microsoft has and delivering an ongoing stream of updates. These updates may technically carry code numbers or names, but they won’t be heavily flagged and most users will simply see themselves as running ‘Windows’ – a platform which is always the latest software Microsoft has to offer. That means no more XP, 7, 8.1 or 10 and maybe software which runs iOS and Android apps.
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