Windows 10 upgrade: it’s now or never

That is, at least if you want it for free... APC’s editor Dan Gardiner looks at your options.

It’s official: after July 29th of this year, the Windows 10 upgrade will no longer be free — it’ll cost you $179 a pop for the Home edition and $229 for the Pro edition. That $179 price is the same as what Windows 10 retails for on the Microsoft Store, although it’s about $40 more than you’ll pay for an OEM version — i.e. how much you pay for a copy of Windows 10 alongside a new PC.

Also notable is that all new PCs sold after that date will come with Windows 10, too, so if you’re hoping to get a new PC with an older version of Windows (already a rarity), now’s the time to start hunting.

So, now that the deadline is looming, should you upgrade? For us, the most important aspect of that question revolves around how long you intend to continue using your current system, and what edition of Windows it has. Every version of Windows has an official ‘lifecycle’ of 10 years — how long Microsoft will support the OS with regular updates and security patches — although this has often been extended in the past. Windows XP, for example, had a lifecycle of over 12 years due to its continuing popularity. Here are the official expiry dates for the eligible versions of Windows: Windows 7 — January 14, 2020 Windows 8.1 — January 10, 2023

Those dates are far enough away that you’ll probably upgrade to a new PC or laptop before then. Most people who’ve used both will agree that W10 is better than 8.1 — it brings back the Start menu, is faster on lower-end hardware and lets you work more efficiently with the traditional mouse-and-keyboard inputs. I actually have an 8.1 system that I’ll be upgrading soon.

If you have Windows 7 and you’re happy with it, you might be able to continue along as you are. But you will be missing out on the gradual improvements Microsoft makes to Windows 10 and, as with previous versions of Windows, there will be a smattering of exclusive games and apps that require it — the recentlyreleased Quantum Break (see page 112 for our review) is one such example. If that’s a trade-off you’re happy to make, you can stay put.

For anyone who decides not to upgrade, there’s some relatively good news too: those bloody Windows 10 Upgrade prompts will finally disappear after July 29th. Hooray!