With the launch of Windows 10 less than a week away, here’s what you can expect to find when the operating system launches on July 29. It’s not quite as simple as “Windows 10 will be available that day.”
Windows Insiders (read: Windows 10 preview testers) will get first dibs when Windows 10 launches on July 29, while everyone else will see a staggered roll out over the following days. In other words, if you haven’t yet “
reserved” your free upgrade from
Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, now would be the time to do so.
Microsoft recently began offering reservations through a pop-up message in the Windows notification center.
Microsoft says it will use the rollout to check compatibility and to “listen, learn, and update the experience for all Windows 10 users.” However, the company notes that “the vast majority” of PCs running Windows 7 and higher should be fully compatible— though the compatibility checker
doesn’t recognize Nvidia’s Windows 10-compatible GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics card. As a reminder, all users running
Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can
get a free upgrade to Windows 10 within a year of the July 29 launch, after which the price will be $119.
