HP aims for quick switch to Windows 10 on PCs, tablets

One of HP’s first products to get Windows 10 will be the 8in Pro Tablet 608 G1.

Acting quickly to move away from Windows 8, HP will start preinstalling Windows 10 across its old and new PCs and tablets within days of the release of the new OS on 29 July.

One of HP’s first products with the new operating system will be the 8in Pro Tablet 608 G1, which will ship in July with Windows 8.1 and from August come with Windows 10 preinstalled. Customers buying the tablet in July will be able to upgrade the OS for free. The screen displays images at a 2048x1536-pixel resolution, and its ability to display more content onscreen could make note-taking more convenient.

Other PC makers are also expected to move quickly to preinstall Microsoft’s new operating system on their desktops, laptops and tablets. Dell is expected to offer Windows 10 on its PCs from 29 July, while Acer and Lenovo will soon follow.

Microsoft is providing free upgrades to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and 8.1 for one year. HP wasn’t sure when Windows 10 would be released, so it made sense to keep PCs ready for the new OS, Nash said.

But there’s a difference between upgrading to Windows 10 and having the new OS preinstalled, particularly on PCs. Upgraded systems will have Windows 10 as the default OS, but they will still have Windows 8.1 as the recovery operating system. PCs with Windows 10 preinstalled won’t have a trace of Windows 8.

HP has worked closely with Microsoft on building drivers, user interfaces and BIOS-related features related to Windows 10, explained Nash.

Agam Shah reports

The PC maker is particularly keen on bringing Windows 10 to its hybrids as the new operating system is better at adapting to different PC usage models. Hybrids running the OS will be able to automatically switch between tablet and desktop interfaces, based on a device’s position. It’s also more sophisticated at analysing sensor data, which helps identify whether the device is in laptop or tablet mode.

With the 608 G1, HP sees potential advantages from packaging Intel’s new Atom chips code-named Cherry Trail with the new OS. The chips provide faster application and graphics performance than previous Atom chips. The tablet is 8.35mm thick and has a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfers. It has a 2Mp front and 8Mp rear camera, and up to 128GB of storage.