Is Windows 9 really free?

Computer Store News: Recently, reports on Microsoft's next-generation operating system are overwhelming and overwhelming. However, the industry and consumers are most concerned about the cost issue: Is Windows 9 really free? If it's free, is it only for Windows 8 users or for all Windows users?

Microsoft will hold a new version of Windows on Wednesday morning. The technical preview of Windows 9 may be released in advance, and the final version will not be officially available until the spring of 2015.

Windows 9 Free is the trend of the times

First of all, is it free for Windows 9, although Microsoft Indonesia President Andris & Bull; Diatro recently said that Windows 8 users Free upgrade to Windows 9, but Microsoft is still in the air. However, all kinds of realities are driving Windows 9 to be free.

As we all know, the market for Vista in the Ballmer era reflects mediocrity, and the emergence of the older Windows 7 has allowed Microsoft to regain market and user confidence. However, in 2012, Win8 encountered the same cold weather as Windows Vista. In addition, Microsoft's mainstream Windows XP and Windows 7 are old versions of the old system, the former served 13 years, the latter served for 7 years. Microsoft urgently needs a new operating system to defend its position in the desktop hegemony. The launch of Windows 9 will be an important opportunity to reverse the perception of Windows, and free is the best accelerator.

In addition, Microsoft missed the outbreak of mobile operating systems, and Google and Apple quickly divided the mobile market with Android and iOS. According to data from Microsoft in August 2014, Microsoft has only 14% of all hardware devices such as PCs, tablets and smartphones, and WP phones only have a 2.5% share.

The introduction of Windows 9 will be another opportunity for the development of hardware devices. Although the cores of Microsoft's tablets and smartphones are now unified, in terms of operational experience, they are tearing each other apart. Therefore, with the launch of Windows 9, it will quickly open up the relationship between the two, "developer two veins", developers once developed applications and games will be available on the integrated Windows Phone and Windows RT platforms, which It is of great significance to Microsoft.

More importantly, consumers around the world are becoming more accustomed to free operating systems and updates, which has become a trend in the industry. Other major operating systems, such as iOS, Android, and OS X, offer free upgrades. In this free tide, Microsoft will slowly lose its market if it insists on charging. After all, Microsoft's system upgrade costs have been too high, the retail price of Win8.1 Standard Edition /Win8.1 Professional Edition is 998 yuan and 1998 yuan. On the one hand, these factors lead to the proliferation of piracy, and on the other hand, they restrict the enthusiasm of old users to the new system.

It can be seen that the free download of Microsoft's next-generation operating system Windows 9 is the general trend!

Two Ways to Get Windows 9 Free

Considering Microsoft's revenue problem, Windows 9 will have two options for free.

First, it's completely free for the mobile world. At the BUILD conference in April this year, Microsoft announced that Windows 8.1 is free for tablet phones under 9 inches. Therefore, Windows 9 for smartphones and tablets will continue the previous free policy, which will continue to drive Microsoft's share of mobile devices.

Second, in the desktop field, the system is free of charge, and the bundled value-added charges are supplemented.

It has been previously reported that Microsoft is considering offering free upgrades to existing Windows users, and Windows 8 users will be able to upgrade to Windows 9 for free. Older users such as Windows XP will receive special discounts. For this statement, the official has not made a clear statement. However, users of Windows 8 and Windows RT will be able to upgrade to Windows 8.1 for free through the Windows Store online store. So, the possibility of a free upgrade to Windows 9 for Windows 8 users is very large.

I don't agree with the old Windows XP and Windows 7 users who will get a special discount. After all, the two versions of the operating system still dominate the global PC desktop. The share of Windows 7 has exceeded 50%, and Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft, but there are still many users. If you need to upgrade the fee, even a discounted upgrade will make these users discouraged, which is a serious consideration for Microsoft who continues to promote Windows 9.

As a consumer, if Microsoft offers a free upgrade to Windows 9 for all users, this is of course a joy. For Microsoft, which is reducing revenue, it is bound to find new economic growth points. Providing similar cloud services is a good solution. After all, Microsoft’s revenue from Windows is one of Microsoft’s two most important cash flows. The other one is Office).

At the beginning of the year, Microsoft began offering free Bentley Windows operating systems to computer makers, a move designed to promote Microsoft's Web services. Therefore, in the desktop field, Microsoft will continue to promote Windows 9 in the form of a similar system free add-on value-added service bundled service.

In summary, Microsoft's new generation of operating system Windows 9 is free to provide users with the general trend. After all, reluctant children can't hold the wolf, although the income is reduced, Microsoft will continue to monopolize the traditional desktop market. In addition, once traditional desktop consumers benefit from Microsoft, they are also more willing to use Microsoft's fee-added services, and even like to try and try Windows Phone and Windows tablet, which will have additional economic benefits for Microsoft.