Microsoft on Tuesday at the Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) summit in China made a variety of announcements – including the password alternative Microsoft Hello project – and revealed more details about the final Windows 10 release.
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Even though a firm launch date isn’t available yet for Microsoft’s boldest Windows version yet, the company confirmed that Windows 10 is going to be available this summer to users in 190 countries and 111 languages. The desktop version of the operating system can already be downloaded in beta version by Windows fans who have already signed up for the Insider program.
Microsoft further said that more than 1.5 billion users around the world use Windows, with millions of PC operating Windows in China.
The company reaffirmed its commitment to delivering free Windows 10 updates to current Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 users in the first year after it’s released, announcing partnerships with several major Chinese companies, including Lenovo, Tencent, Qihu 360 and Xiaomi, to accelerate the deployment of Windows 10 once it becomes available.
Interestingly, the company also revealed that Lenovo will launch at least one Windows phone, that’ll be launched this summer via China Mobile, and that Xiaomi’s Mi 4 will also run Windows 10, with a select group of power users to be invited to test out the operating system.
