Microsoft reveals Windows 10 will be available on 29 July

Windows 7 or 8.1 users can sign up for a ‘reservation’ now to be among the first to download the OS

The wait is over: Microsoft has announced that you’ll be able to download Windows 10 on 29 July, especially if you sign up for a ‘reservation’ on Windows 7 and 8.1 systems.

On that date, the company says you’ll either be able to download the new operating system or buy a new Windows 10 PC from retailers. And if you click the reservation link that Microsoft is pushing via its most recent updates to Windows 7 and 8.1, you can sign up to preload the software just as soon as it becomes available.

Don’t expect Windows 10 Mobile to be available on that date, though. In a footnote to a blog post announcing the date, the tech giant says the date applies to PCs and tablets only. Microsoft also hasn’t specified that the 29 July date applies to both the Windows 10 Home and the Professional versions, though we assume both are included.

Terry Myerson, corporate vice president in charge of Microsoft’s operating system development has said that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade, and that like the ongoing security updates the company provides, will be “free for the supported lifetime of your device”. The tech giant didn’t define what the “supported lifetime” of those PCs will be, though.

Does this matter? Obviously, we’ve all been waiting for the release date, but this information meant a lot more in previous years, when Microsoft reserved the testing of its new operating system to a select few, and its features remained a mystery right up until the launch.

With Microsoft’s open public testing, that mystery has disappeared. Moreover, the company’s commitment to continued updates after Windows 10 is available also means that the July launch is a moment in time, rather than the final steps in a long road of product development.