It"s July 29, 2025 in many parts of the globe right now, which means that Windows 10 is officially 10 years old as of today. Although the OS was first announced in September 2014, it hit general availability on July 29, 2015 after almost a year of Technical Previews (that is what we called Insider Previews back in the day). It was made available as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8/8.1 users, and reviewed quite well at Neowin on launch.
Although the operating system"s launch was a bit rocky - remember the telemetry brouhaha? -, Windows 10 eventually found its footing and became highly popular among customers. It"s only now that Windows 11"s market share has almost caught up with Windows 10, which further cements its status as an icon among other versions like Windows 7 and Windows XP.
Windows 10 was a big step up from its predecessor in many ways. The operating system is credited with introducing many new features including a revamped Start menu that most people finally liked, a revamped UI with modern aesthetics, Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Action Center, Windows Hello, and more. Of course, not all of these features were popular, but the effort that Microsoft put into the OS was clear; this was no Windows 8.
Over the past week or so, Neowin has been celebrating 10 Years of Windows 10 in our dedicated section here, you can find some of our features listed below:
- 10 features in Windows 10 that just never took off
- Windows 10 is the reason why we are so conscious about privacy now
- Our top 10 stories about Windows 10 from the past decade
- Five things Windows 10 never fixed
- Windows 10 is turning 10: Here are top 10 features and changes it introduced
Of course, as we celebrate Windows 10"s tenth birthday, we should also keep in mind that the OS is reaching end of support on October 14, 2025. You can extend support for a year through paid or "free" means, but it"s definitely the end of the line for OS. You can read all about this topic in our dedicated guide, penned by Neowin Editor Taras Buria.
As we turn the page on the OS, remainers have to consider whether they can or should upgrade to Windows 11 or switch to something else entirely, like a Linux distro. But that is a topic that warrants a detailed discussion and set it aside for some other day. For now, utilize the comments section to let us know how long have you been using Windows 10 for, what are your favorite features in the OS, and what are your fondest memories of it!
Image vector: Party Popper PNGs by Vecteezy