Windows 10 Anniversary Update Available August 2

We are committed to delivering continuous innovation to you: including features that bring Windows Ink and Cortana to the mainstream; a faster, more accessible and more power-efficient Microsoft Edge browser; advanced security features for consumers and enterprises; new gaming experiences and new tools for the modern classroom. Everyone running Windows 10 will get these new features for free.

We’d like to say a special thank you to each of you who have upgraded to Windows 10. With over 350 million devices now running Windows 10, customer satisfaction is higher than any previous version of Windows and customer engagement is also incredible with more than 135 billion hours of use on Windows 10 since launch. We’re pleased that so many of you are being more productive and having more fun with Windows 10. Your feedback has been a key input into the design of the Anniversary Update.

To celebrate, we’d like to make it easy for everyone to enjoy the great new features in the Anniversary Update. Our free Windows 10 upgrade offer is available until July 29, and we’re also excited to share a few additional special offers. Students can save $300 when they purchase an Xbox One and Surface at Microsoft Stores, or get a free TV when they purchase a Dell PC over $699*. Plus, consumers can get $150 off select HP devices or $100 off select ASUS and Samsung devices.

Whether you’ve been with us all along as a Windows Insider or considering when you should upgrade, this summer is a great time to be on Windows 10.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update: Full of New Innovations for Consumers and Enterprises

The Anniversary Update will help people be more productive, stay safer online – and of course, have fun. Together, the Anniversary Update brings six areas of innovation and improvements to consumers and enterprises.

Additional Security Features for the Most Secure Windows

As the most secure Windows ever, Windows 10 offers significant security protection. Security has never been more critical with more than 250 million threats online in any given day. These threats can cause loss of data and personal information with increased risk of identity theft. Windows 10 includes built-in protection to help keep you more secure with all new features in the Anniversary Update.

For all individual customers, we have two big security innovations coming in the Anniversary Update: Windows Hello** for apps and websites and Windows Defender:

• Over 90% of people have abandoned web sites instead of locating a forgotten password because security hasn’t been easy enough to use. New Windows Hello features make it easy for you to use the same easy, yet strong, security of Windows Hello with Windows apps and Microsoft Edge, the first and only browser to natively support biometrics with supporting sites. The Anniversary Update also enables companion devices to use Windows Hello to unlock your PC, giving you more choices for quick, secured sign-ins.
• Improvements to Windows Defender, our free anti-malware service, includes the option to automatically schedule periodic quick scans of your PC; as well as provide new notifications and summaries when scans are complete and threats are found.

For enterprise customers, today we are excited to announce two major new security features, launching with the Anniversary Update, to help protect businesses from today’s modern threats.

• Today’s cyberattacks have gotten more brazen and more invasive, costing organizations an average of $12 million per incident – wreaking havoc on corporate networks, stealing data, breaching privacy, and destroying customer trust. Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP) detects, investigates, and responds to advanced malicious attacks on networks by providing a more comprehensive threat intelligence and attack detection. This service is informed by the world’s largest array of sensors and expert advanced threat protection, including a team of security researchers at Microsoft leveraging in-house and security partner intelligence. WDATP now covers more than 700,000 endpoints and is being used in pilots by more than 300 active enterprises participating in 70 countries around the world.

• To help protect businesses from accidental data leaks – the biggest source of lost data – the Anniversary Update delivers Windows Information Protection, formerly referred to as enterprise data protection. Windows Information Protection enables businesses to separate personal and organizational data and helps protect corporate data where ever it goes.

Windows Ink Brings the Power of Windows to the Tip of Your Pen

More than 70% of people spend more than one hour a day using a pen. Yet, we lose notes in our notebooks, take pictures of whiteboards, and don’t have the option to do equations or music composition with a keyboard. Writing is also a key part of the creative and learning process. Studies indicate students learn better by writing. For example, diagramming before solving a science problem can lead to 36% higher scores.

Windows Ink, available for the first time in the Anniversary Update, brings the writing you do every day into your digital world. Now, using a Windows 10 device, graphic designers can be more creative, musicians can write digital music, lawyers can edit documents with the power of the pen, and students can do mathematical equations and learn by writing – all with Windows Ink.

• Quickly and easily take a note, sketch on a screenshot, or draw an idea.
• Smart Sticky Notes help you remember common tasks like reminding you of flight times or offering directions using Maps.
• Key apps have new ink-specific features, like using handwriting in Office, ink annotations in Microsoft Edge or drawing custom routes in Maps.

Cortana Helps You Be More Productive with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

As part of our ambition to make computing more personal, we introduced Cortana***, your personal digital assistant. Windows has been a pioneer in this space, first introducing Cortana in Windows Phone, then to the PC with Windows 10, and soon available on Xbox One. Today, we have more than 1,000 Cortana apps in the Windows Store. But we can do more to make it easier for you to interact with Cortana and receive helpful information throughout your day.

• Cortana is now available above your lock screen so you can do things like ask questions, play music from your PC or set a reminder without unlocking your device.
• Cortana can save and recall key information, like your frequent flier number or where you parked at the airport. You can also add photos to make your reminders visual, like a photo of a bottle of wine you enjoyed at a restaurant.
• Cortana can give you notifications across all the devices you have with Cortana – like sharing directions across devices or from text or messaging services on your phone.

Microsoft Edge Helps You Do More with Increased Power Efficiency, Extensions and Accessibility

Browsing the web today is very different than when the first browsers were invented. We live in a world with hundreds of millions of security threats and the browser has become a heavily used application for commerce, watching videos, and sharing with others. Microsoft Edge is a modern browser designed to protect against security threats, maximize your battery life, and provide easier access.

• Building on strong power efficiency already available in Microsoft Edge, the Anniversary Update includes even more power-saving improvements, using fewer CPU cycles, consuming less memory, and minimizing the impact of background activity and peripheral content. Microsoft Edge lasts three hours longer than Google Chrome—long enough to finish the final movie in your favorite trilogy.
• Microsoft Edge Extensions, such as Pinterest’s “Pin It Button,” Amazon Assistant, AdBlock, Adblock Plus and LastPass, will be available in the Windows Store with the Anniversary Update to add features to your browser and personalize your experience.
• A new accessibility architecture for Microsoft Edge supports modern web standards, including HTML5, CSS3, and ARIA. With the Anniversary Update, page structure and content are now exposed more clearly with assistive technology. Visual presentation of web pages in high contrast mode is greatly improved to provide additional visual context, while preserving text contrast. Also, form entry when using keyboard navigation and screen readers improve in this update making the browsing experience for people of all abilities better.

Gamers Stay Connected and Enjoy More Games

Today gaming is one of the fastest growing areas of entertainment, with over 19 billion hours of gameplay on Windows 10 alone. Today’s gamers see their gaming experience silo’d by their devices, where mobile gaming is different than PC and different than console. Equally, content doesn’t extend across experiences. This changes with great new features for Xbox One and the Xbox app on Windows 10. Stay connected with friends on Xbox Live and enjoy even more games across your favorite devices with the Anniversary Update.

• With the Xbox Play Anywhere program, you can buy a game once and play on your Windows 10 PC and Xbox One with shared progress, shared game saves and shared achievements. Every new title published from Microsoft Studios that we showed onstage at E3 this year will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store.
• Xbox Play Anywhere games will be offered within the new unified Windows Store on both Windows 10 and Xbox One. You’ll be able to find the content you want faster and purchase game and app bundles, pre-orders, pre-downloads and subscriptions such as Xbox Live Gold.
• On Xbox One, gamers will be able to use Cortana commands to find great new games, see what your friends are up to, start a party, accomplish common tasks and turn on your Xbox One by saying “Hey Cortana, Xbox On”.
• Top fan requested features for Xbox One, such as Language Region Independence (allowing gamers to choose any supported language, regardless of their location) and support for background music, will come with the Anniversary Update.
• Gamers can enjoy the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on the new Xbox One S. Available starting at $299 USD this summer, with a limited 2TB Xbox One S launch edition available in August for $399 USD, it’s the only console with support for HDR gaming and 4K Ultra HD video and Blu-ray.

New Innovations for the Modern Classroom join great devices starting at $179

Today’s schools see incredible opportunity to incorporate technology to aid in learning, and incredible demands in managing technology for their students. Unique dynamics make this challenging. Over 90% of schools in the US use shared devices and nearly 50% of teachers serve as their own tech support in their school classrooms. Education customers can enjoy a range of new features in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, including faster, simpler set up with all new tools to help educators get up and running quickly.

• The Anniversary Update simplifies the deployment process. Teachers can set up devices in three easy steps, even with no dedicated IT support. The all-new “Set up School PCs” app allows teachers to set up a ‘Shared Cart of Devices’ for their classroom.

• For schools with dedicated IT support, the updated Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer tool enables them to set up shared devices, in bulk, in a matter of minutes.
• Windows 10 is faster than ever, with an average first log-in of 26 seconds and subsequent log-ins of 6 seconds, helping classes with shared devices get productive quickly****.
• For high-stakes tests, the ‘Take a Test’ app creates a browser-based, locked-down environment for more secure, online assessments. This is ideal for tests that shouldn’t have copy/paste privileges, access to files, or other distractions. For simple formative and quizzing needs, the app couples with a teacher’s preferred assessment website to deliver digital assessments.

This is just a sampling of the many innovations and offerings we’re excited to deliver with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on August 2. Upgrade today before the free offer ends July 29 or take advantage of one of the amazing new deals on a new Surface or PC so you’re all set to enjoy it this summer! Thanks again for all of your support for Windows 10; we’re committed to keeping the innovations for you coming!

Yusuf

*More details here
**Hardware requirements apply
*** Cortana available in select markets
****For Windows 10 machines in the Shared Cart configuration, running on affordable hardware