It feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? We’re sitting here in 2025, and Windows 10 feels like that reliable old car you finally traded in.
You know the one. It always started, got you where you needed to go, but the new models have all the shiny buttons.
Thinking back to its release is a real trip down memory lane. The official Windows 10 OS release date was July 29, 2015.
That date was a pretty big deal for a lot of people. It was the moment Microsoft tried to fix a lot of things.
And mostly they succeeded. It was an operating system that would stick around for what felt like forever in the tech world.
What Was Going On Before Windows 10 Showed Up?
To really get why the Windows 10 release was such a moment, you have to remember the mess that came before it.
The name of that mess was Windows 8.
Microsoft really went for it with that one. They tried to make one system for both tablets and desktops.
The problem was, most people were still using a mouse and keyboard. Not a touchscreen.
So you got this weird split personality. There was the normal desktop, and then there was this strange Start screen with big, colorful tiles.
People were generally confused. It was considered to be a very jarring change that nobody really asked for.
The biggest crime? They took away the Start button. That little button in the corner that everyone had used for years. It was just gone.
Everyone just wanted their start button back and Microsoft, well they finally listened. It was clear a change was needed, and fast.
The Big Reveal and Why They Skipped “Windows 9”
So when Microsoft announced the next version, everyone was paying attention. They showed off a system that looked familiar again.
It brought back the Start Menu, but it also kept some of the tile ideas from Windows 8. A sort of best-of-both-worlds thing.
But they called it Windows 10. Everyone was like, wait, what happened to Windows 9? It was a bit of a mystery.
The common story, and it makes some sense, is about old code. A lot of old programs might have code that checks for “Windows 9…”
And by that, they mean Windows 95 or Windows 98. It was a lazy way for developers to check the OS version back in the day.
So calling it Windows 9 could have broken a lot of old software. Microsoft just decided to jump right to 10 to avoid the whole problem.
The Free Upgrade Offer
One of the smartest things Microsoft did with Windows 10 was making it free. Well, for a while at least.
If you had a legitimate copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you could upgrade to Windows 10 for absolutely nothing.
This offer lasted for a whole year. It got so many people to switch over. Normally you had to pay a good amount for a new Windows version.
This helped Windows 10 get into millions of homes really, really quickly. It was a great move.
“One Windows to Rule Them All”
Another big idea they were pushing was this concept of a single platform. The idea was that Windows 10 wasn’t just for your PC.
It was also for your tablet. And your phone. And even your Xbox. They wanted one system, one app store for their whole family of gadgets.
This was a huge promise. It didn’t totally work out, especially the phone part, which kind of fizzled out.
But the idea was there. To make everything work together better. It set the stage for how things would work later on.
So, When Did Windows 10 Actually Release?
Okay, let’s get back to the main point. The official, go-live, Windows 10 OS release date was July 29, 2015.
But it wasn’t like a switch was flipped and everyone got it at the same time. The rollout was a bit more complicated than that.
Microsoft did it in waves. They started with people in their “Windows Insider” program, who had been testing it for months.
Then, they slowly started rolling it out to everyone else who had reserved a copy. You probably remember that little “Get Windows 10” icon.
That icon sat in your system tray for weeks, telling you to save your spot in line for the free upgrade.
This staggered release was so their servers wouldn’t just melt down on day one. It was a gradual process over days and weeks.
So while the official date is July 29th, your personal upgrade day might have been sometime in early August 2015.
Looking Back from 2025: The Legacy of Windows 10
Sitting here now, it’s easy to see what a workhorse Windows 10 was. It had an incredibly long life.
For almost ten years, it was the main operating system for most of the world’s PCs. That’s a long time in technology.
It was also the start of a new model for Microsoft. “Windows as a Service,” they called it.
No more buying a new version every few years.
Instead, you got big feature updates for free.
These happened about twice a year.
Remember names like the “Anniversary Update” or the “Creators Update”? Those were basically mini-sequels to Windows 10.
It successfully fixed all the big complaints people had about Windows 8. The Start Menu was back and better than ever.
It was stable, it was familiar, and it just worked. Which is pretty much all anyone wants from their computer’s operating system.
Now with Windows 11 being the standard and Windows 12 on the horizon, Windows 10 is on its way out. Support is ending soon.
But it will be remembered as the OS that got Microsoft back on track. It was a reliable foundation for a whole decade of computing.
Your Windows 10 Release Date Questions Answered
What was the exact release date for Windows 10?
The official global launch date for Windows 10 was Wednesday, July 29, 2015. This was the date the public rollout began.
Was Windows 10 free when it came out?
Yes, it was. For the first year after its release, users with a genuine copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 could upgrade to Windows 10 for free.
What operating system came right before Windows 10?
The predecessor was Windows 8.1. It was an update to the original Windows 8, which tried to fix some of its most criticized features.
Why was there no Windows 9?
The most widely accepted theory is to avoid a technical problem. Old software code might confuse “Windows 9” with “Windows 95” or “Windows 98,” causing compatibility issues, so Microsoft just skipped it to be safe.
When does Microsoft stop supporting Windows 10?
Microsoft is scheduled to end support for most versions of Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. After that date, there will be no more security updates.
Key Takeaways
The Date: The Windows 10 OS was first released to the public on July 29, 2015.
The Context: It was made to correct the many user complaints about its predecessor, Windows 8, most notably by bringing back the Start Menu.
Free Upgrade: A huge part of its fast adoption was the one-year free upgrade offer for existing Windows 7 and 8.1 users.
A New Model: It introduced the “Windows as a Service” idea, where users received regular feature updates instead of buying whole new versions.
Longevity: Windows 10 had a very long lifespan, serving as Microsoft’s primary operating system for nearly a decade before the introduction of Windows 11.
