Windows 9 to be a free upgrade for Windows 8 users

by Mark Tyson on 29 September 2014, 10:05

Tags: Windows 8, Windows XP, PC

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Previous rumours about the next version of Windows being a free upgrade, for existing Windows 8 users, seem to have been confirmed this weekend. Indonesian news site Detik, quoted the President of Microsoft Indonesia, Andreas Diantoro, as saying Windows 8 users will get the upgrade 'gratis'. (Via BGR)

The reports suggest that the Windows 9 upgrade will come to Windows 8 users much like the Windows 8.1 update arrived: as a download though the Windows Store. So that's Windows 8.X users covered, but what about Windows XP, Vista and 7 owners? While Microsoft is definitely interested in getting users to migrate to its newest OSes there is not yet any sign concerning upgrades and offers for people who use these older versions of Windows.

There's still a lot of chatter about the naming of the next version of Windows. Paul Thurrott reports that a Microsoft web site, since taken down, talked about 'Windows TH'. Other names we might see for the next version of Microsoft's OS are; 'Windows 1', 'Windows X' or just 'Windows'…

Tomorrow Microsoft will be holding its 'What's next for Windows and the enterprise' event in San Francisco. Hopefully we will find out much more about features, naming, pricing and upgrade offers then. We are also expecting to see the launch of the Windows Technical Preview which developers and other interested folk can download to test the newest Windows OS. NeoWin reports that this download will weigh in at just over 3GB (32-bit) or around 4GB (64-bit).

HEXUS Forums :: 51 Comments

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Posted by Attila the Bun - Mon 29 Sep 2014 10:22
Interesting…so my laptop will get upgraded if I want to…that's good…can't say I ever had the hate for 8 that a lot have had but I did think that it wasn't a good progression from 7. Hopefully 9 will be better and I can upgrade my main rig.
Posted by Corky34 - Mon 29 Sep 2014 10:24
I understand rolling minor version changes out with Windows update, but i think i will miss having installable media when a new major version change comes around.

I hope they still release physical media and ISO's of major versions as well as the upgrade path.
Posted by Tpyo - Mon 29 Sep 2014 10:36
Corky34
I understand rolling minor version changes out with Windows update, but i think i will miss having installable media when a new major version change comes around.

I hope they still release physical media and ISO's of major versions as well as the upgrade path.

I hope they make them available too (and not at some ridiculous premium). The lack of a cheap OEM style version of Win8 for system builders was a blow. Ideally (IMO), do it as a read-only bootable USB pen drive so that it can be used across most systems (many laptops not having an optical drive these days).
Posted by Ulti - Mon 29 Sep 2014 10:41
That's interesting. I wonder if they will do a cheap pre-order version for those who do want to buy it though.

Do Windows 7 users not get a free upgrade then? I've got 3 other machines in the house running Windows 7, only my machines are running Windows 8 and I would at least like to upgrade my brother's PC to Windows 9.

Wish I had bought more of the pre-order Windows 8 Pro when it was £14.99 for a limited time.

I can't see myself putting Windows 8/9 on my parents' machine though, a bit too tricky for them IMO.
Posted by YazX - Mon 29 Sep 2014 10:51
thats a step in the right direction.

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