Introduction
Windows 10 isn't really the last version of Windows. It might be the last version number though, because new features and improvements will come out as part of Windows 10 rather than as new releases you have to upgrade to.
Some of those will be smaller fixes and updates; some will be larger upgrades, like the Redstone update expected in 2016. They'll be delivered through Windows Update and Windows Update for Business, something Microsoft refers to as Windows as a Service. But what does that actually mean?
In this slideshow, we will answer that central question, and other queries you may have about Windows 10 along these lines…
It's not really a service
The phrase 'as a Service' usually means that you're not getting software to run on your PC and instead use a cloud service (that may or may not have software for your devices to use with some of the features available).
Windows as a Service is the full version of Windows, in whatever SKU you use, running on your PCs as usual. Microsoft is using the name because 'servicing' is the way it refers to what most people call updating and patching. When you see the phrase 'always up to date with the latest features and security updates', that's Windows as a Service.
It's not called Windows 365
You might have heard that Microsoft registered a domain with the Windows 365 name – it's most likely they did that to stop anyone else using it and confusing users, because that's not what Microsoft calls Windows as a Service. And unlike Office 365, you don't pay a monthly fee to get new features (or even the right to keep using the software).
The confusion arises because the free upgrade to Windows 10 (Home and Pro editions) is only available to Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8.1 users for a year after Windows 10 comes out. If you wait longer than that and then you want to upgrade, Microsoft will charge you to get Windows 10 (that might be as much as the full Windows 10 licence, as previous upgrade prices have been available for limited periods of time). But once you get Windows 10, you'll get free security and feature updates, for "the supported lifetime of the device".
The phrase supported lifetime refers to the fact that OEMs don't support PC models forever – after a certain point, they stop releasing drivers for older PCs. If a new feature comes along in Windows that needs an updated driver and the PC vendor is no longer supporting the device and doesn't release a new driver, then that new feature isn't going to work for you.
Windows 10 Enterprise isn't a free upgrade at all, but if you have Software Assurance as part of your Windows Enterprise volume licence you'll have the right to upgrade. SA is a subscription, and that doesn't change.
It's only for Windows 10
Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 will carry on getting security updates for as long as they're supported by Microsoft, but the continuing new features are only for Windows 10. That's also true for the Windows Update for Business service, where businesses can choose to deliver fixes through their own version of the Windows Update system.
Consumers and businesses update differently
The Windows 10 Home edition comes with automatic system updates; you have to be using Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise to be able to delay or turn off feature updates. If you keep updates on, you'll always have the latest version of Windows, which Microsoft calls the 'current branch'. And if they want, Windows Insiders can stay in the Insider program (even if they're on Windows Pro or Enterprise as well as Home) and remain on what Microsoft calls the 'active branch' to get previews of new updates before everyone else.
For businesses, there are two things to think about with updates. One is that the branches are slightly different. The Current Branch for Business (which is available for both Windows Pro and Enteprise) gets security updates straight away, and feature updates regularly – but not until the current branch for consumers has had those features for several months (long enough to show that there aren't any problems with them).
Windows 10 Enterprise customers with Software Assurance who have PCs running critical systems where they can't risk changes and incompatibilities can also opt for the Long Term Servicing branch that gets security and critical updates (via Windows Update for Windows Server Update Services), but doesn't get feature updates for the five or ten years of mainstream and extended support.
New Long Term Servicing branches with some new features will come out (probably at the same two to three year interval that service packs used to arrive at) and you'll be able to upgrade to the next Long Term Servicing branch when it comes out. You can also switch PCs between current and Long Term Service branches.
The other option businesses have is the free Windows Update for Business option for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. This gives you the same updates, but with more control over exactly when they roll out. You can put different PCs into different distribution rings, so enthusiastic users get new features more quickly and critical teams like the finance department get them more slowly.
You can also set maintenance windows – that could mean no PCs get rebooted for updates during business hours, or no-one in the finance department will have their PC rebooted for an update during the last week of the quarter when they're working on financial reports.
Feature creep
There are some Windows 10 features that won't be available straight away, including extensions support in the Edge browser and whatever Microsoft comes up with to replace the 'placeholder' feature in OneDrive (in Windows 8.1 that lets you save files into OneDrive folders that you don't sync, even when you're offline, and have them sync to the cloud later, but it's not in Windows 10).
Indeed, the unified OneDrive client that supports sync to both consumer OneDrive and OneDrive for Business probably won't come out until the autumn, along with Windows 10 Enterprise. If you're not allowing Windows Update to deliver features as well as security updates and you install Windows 10 before those features come along, you won't get them.
And if you're on the Long Term Servicing branch, you won't get the Edge browser at all. That's because Edge will get its own frequent updates, and if you're not going to allow updates, there's no point having Edge installed.
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