Microsoft announces Windows 10, there will be no Windows 9 after all

The next version of Windows was finally revealed earlier today by Microsoft at their San Francisco conference. The last major version of the operating system was Windows 8 so naturally, we expected the next one to be called Windows 9. Well, it seems like Microsoft decided to skip a number for whatever reason and announced Windows 10. I’m pretty sure no one expected this so if Microsoft’s plan was to surprise us, it certainly did a very good job. The company says that Windows 10 is their  “most comprehensive platform ever” and “will run on the broadest types of devices ever.” Interestingly enough, the operating system will have a unique user interface depending on the type of device you’re running it on. Examples of devices running Windows 10 at today’s conference include a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop PC and a TV with an Xbox One below it.

Most people will be happy to know that the start menu will return in the next version of Windows, although it will look a bit different from what you’d expect. Windows 10’s start menu is basically a combination between Windows 7’s start menu and Windows 8’s user interface. The start menu “gives the familiarity of Windows 7 with some of the elements of Windows 8,” according to Microsoft. Windows 7 users will “get a familiar experience on the devices they already have. We want all these Windows 7 users to have the sentiment that yesterday they were driving a first-generation Prius… and now with Windows 10 it’s like a Tesla. They don’t have to learn any new way to drive.”

Windows 10 will feature touch input in order to support Windows 8 users who have familiarized themselves with the touchscreen and enjoyed it. “We have a massive amount of users who know Windows 7 well, and Windows 8 users who know touch well. We need something that works for both,” said Microsoft. “We want to support those Windows 8 users who have touch machines and [are] getting a lot of benefit out of them.”