Firstly, Windows Central (arguably our nemesis, though they do far more rumours and news, while we do more features, plus they also cover desktop/Xbox, so it's a good balance overall!), there's a 'definitive' review (in their own word!), culminating in:
Microsoft has done an admirable job of fixing the mess from Windows 8 and 8.1. However, instead of just guessing at what people wanted they did something unique: they crowdsourced data. The Windows Insider program was set up to let users get an early look at what Microsoft was building. However, instead of just being onlookers, Microsoft built in ways for users to rate features, submit recommendations, and vote on new ideas. This program is not to say that Windows 10 is 100 percent determined by nerdy power users. Microsoft did have ideas and plans, but they used user feedback to help guide them along the way.
The Windows Insider program, which does continue after today, is a brilliant move, and I think it has paid off with Windows 10. The OS feels polished, is very fast to launch apps, and is more stable. Not only have they fixed things, but they added useful features as well e.g. Cortana, Action Center, Windows Hello and more.
Whether it is Cortana, the new Start menu, the Action Center or even the overall look, Windows 10 is an astonishing upgrade. I mention how I was not too enthused months ago and yet I now find it hard to go back to Windows 8.1.
Perhaps a better way to say this is I do not find much in Windows 10 poorly thought out, ugly or lacking a real function. Many of the multitasking features and the new Start menu are true tools to help you work.
Microsoft is right. Windows 10 is for people who do.
The promise of universal Windows apps, integration with other Microsoft services, and Xbox game streaming are all fascinating consumer features that I think real people can use. True, I find Xbox game streaming a bit of a novelty but it is an impressive novelty that I think will get more robust in the future.
At the very beginning, I outlined how Windows 10 being a service was a dramatic change from the past. We can talk of 'final' builds but in reality there is no such thing. Windows 10 is now just Windows, and it will constantly upgrade and improve through OS and Store updates. This approach is radically different from the giant but infrequent OS updates in the past.
So extremely positive there from WC's Daniel Rubino.
Next up is Tim Anderson, at possibly the opposite end of the spectrum, over at the notoriously snarky The Register:
Windows 10 could be better. OneDrive integration is a problem. Windows 8 introduced an elegant system called placeholders, showing the entire contents of your OneDrive in Explorer but only downloading files on demand. Microsoft decided it was confusing and did not always play well with applications, so now you have to select which folders you want to sync, and others are invisible. In mitigation, apps like Office Mobile and Photos can still see what is in OneDrive, even if they are not synced locally. Combine this with confusion over OneDrive for Business – Office 365 storage – and the poor OneDrive for Business client (a new one is in preparation), and you have one feature in Windows 10 that is not yet ready.
Another annoyance is inconsistency of design. Some parts of Windows are in the modern style, like the new Settings app, others are in desktop style, and even within the desktop there is plenty of variation, with some ribbon menus, some text menus, and some dialogs that look hardly touched since Windows 3.1 days. Where to find settings is another issue. Search for Touchpad in Settings and you can set a click delay, but most touchpad settings are in the old control panel. On this laptop there is a Synaptics settings app complete with illustrations from Windows 7.
...Windows will trundle on forever as a legacy operating system, running countless existing business applications, but it cannot progress to become an attractive target for app developers unless Microsoft can persuade users that it is time to move on from Windows 7. Windows 8 failed in that task, and Windows 10 is perhaps Microsoft's last chance to pull its operating system from the legacy hole it is in.
Although they are optional, this release does push users strongly towards a Microsoft account, OneDrive, and Office 365, and Cortana will not appeal to the privacy-conscious. It is also important to understand the implications of Windows as a service – if continuous incremental upgrades do not appeal, stay away. Note too that neither the new Start menu nor the revamped taskbar are unequivocally better than their Windows 7 equivalents. There are compromises involved in creating a hybrid operating system.
Immediate upgrade is for the brave, but Windows 10 is a worthwhile release for both business and consumers.
So optimism with a healthy dose of realism and caveats then.
Meanwhile Jack Schofield at The Guardian says:
Windows 10 works well, and didn’t break any of my older Windows software. The launch is just the start. Microsoft intends to continuously upgrade it over time, which the user has no choice about as you can’t turn updates off without becoming unsupported. There is a Microsoft tool to hide or block unwanted driver updates, however.
Should consumers take the free upgrade? If you use Windows 8 without a touch screen or you’re a gamer, it’s a no-brainer: get it as soon as you can, but back up first of course.
If you use Windows 8 on a tablet with no mouse and keyboard, Windows 10 is optional.
If you only use Windows 7, you will have some relearning to do, but the Get Started app provides a gentle introduction. You can put it off for four-to-12 months, when the free upgrade offer ends, or until 2020, when Windows 7 becomes unsupported.”
Windows 10 is a significant upgrade and the extras are worth a try, especially if you can talk to Cortana. That’s probably not what I would have said three months ago, but using the final build has changed my mind.
Pros: Smaller, lighter and faster than previous versions, works better with a mouse and keyboard, Cortana, “In place” upgrades should be painless, free upgrade
Cons: Requires some relearning, some new features require new hardware, somewhat stark appearance won’t appeal to everyone, may break some very old applications
There's truth in all these opinions, of course. All I can say is that I've been using Windows 10 on a laptop since February or so, as part of the Insiders Preview, and have thrown everything at it, from decade-old video editing software to two-decades-old PDA connectivity utilities to cutting edge smartphone flashing software, and it has all just... worked. Much to my surprise. I have a sneaking suspicion that Windows 10 is just the guts of the old stable Windows 7 with loads of bells and whistles on top. And, while this is a horrible over-simplification, you can think of it in this way in terms of stability.
Now, what of Windows 10 Mobile? Here's the expected timetable:
- September 2015 - New Lumias announced, including the 950 and 950 XL flagships. Plus hardware from other manufacturers, at the lower end, and all running Windows 10 Mobile
- October 2015 - the first W10M hardware actually available
- November 2015 - the first Over-The-Air W10M updates start to roll out, though of course many enthusiasts will have long since switched to the Insiders preview programme, so there won't be quite the same fever pitch as usually surrounds update availability!