Microsoft Windows 10 review

The launch of Windows 10 is the most important single event in home computing in years. The new operating system is free to those using Windows 7 and Windows 8  (If you’re wondering why it’s not called Windows 9 then our friends at Alphr can try and explain) and that alone is a huge change in strategy for Microsoft and a huge boon for PC users.

The first big advantage is of course you’re not paying for it. That means anyone using a relatively modern PC can update to the new operating system today. As far as typical home PC users are concerned, Windows 7 and 8 could be practically eradicated overnight, getting most of the PC population onto the most modern and up-to-date OS.

See, should you upgrade to Windows 10?

That means for the first time since the heyday of Windows XP, some ten years ago, there’s no excuse not to be using Microsoft’s current operating system. This is a huge boon for everyone and it means more people using the latest versions of apps, better security support and a consistent experience across multiple devices.

Speaking of multiple devices, you can install Windows 10 on your PC, laptop or tablet today (or any hybrid laptop-tablet type thing for that matter). It’s coming to Windows Phone 8 handsets shortly and even the Xbox One is getting in on the act too (see, how to setup Xbox One game streaming on Windows 10). That’s because developers will now be able to more easily roll out apps across all these platforms at once, so a new version of Netflix will appear on all of them at once, be based on the same code, yet appear different depending on the screen size and input device. Clever stuff.

Installing is simple and we’ve found the results to be largely stress free, with the latest build proving stable in our testing across multiple devices. Yes of course there are a few niggles, but nothing major and nothing we'd let put us off upgrading.

What is Windows 10?

It’s not really a big surprise that Windows 10 runs well, as underneath the new interface there’s a lot of Windows 8 still there. The outgoing operating system may not have been popular for many reasons but it’s been technically sound for some time. It also means that compatibility shouldn't be a problem; we found no problems running older programmes or connecting hardware, although it’s worth checking if there are new drivers for key bits of hardware, such as a printer.

Windows is still ostensibly a desktop operating system, as opposed to the more cloud-based approach Chrome OS on Chromebooks. However, such distinctions are never clear cut and Windows 10 is heavily integrated with Microsoft’s cloud services, including OneDrive. This comes preinstalled, so you can easily sync and backup files to the cloud. Then there’s Office 365, which provides both browser-based and (optionally) desktop Office apps for a monthly fee

Windows 10 will be largely familiar to anyone who’s used the operating system before. Yes, there’s a Start menu for launching your applications, along with the usual Taskbar for keeping track of what you’ve got open. The Start menu now incorporates a section of live tiles for various apps (more on those later), but if you don’t like them you can remove them entirely: just right-click each one and choose unpin.

There are lots of fancy new ways to navigate the desktop, but we’ll get into those later, and they’re entirely optional. In short, if you were annoyed that Windows ever changed from its XP incarnation, you’ll be just fine here after a bit of tinkering.

Windows for all shapes and sizes

What’s really clever is that the regular desktop experience we’ve just described is only one part of Windows 10. if you’re using a typical laptop or PC then everything is as familiar as a comfy armchair. However, if you have a fancy new device, such as a touchscreen laptop or a hybrid laptop-tablet, then it works for your device too.

By simply detaching the keyboard or folding your hybrid back on itself Windows 10 switches into tablet mode. The OS will ask if it should change mode the first time and you can choose to make the switch automatic or require confirmation in a dialog box. We’ve found this works with all the hardware we have in the office, although all of these have a sensor to detect the change; some hybrids with clip-on Bluetooth keyboards don’t have this capability, so you'll have to change the mode manually.

In tablet mode you get a full-screen Start menu with large tiled app icons that you can easily tap to launch. Thanks to live tiles you get updates from your apps without even opening them, photos from social media, weather, news headlines and so on. That and the dense tiled layout make it all far more modern and slick than either Apple or Google’s mobile operating systems. You also get mobile-OS touches such as a back button. In fact with Windows 10 we could really see ourselves moving to single device computing, with a laptop-tablet hybrid covering everything we need from both form factors. Although there are still some sticking points.

What does it get right?

So Windows 10 has better support for the kind of myriad of devices that Windows 8 was supposed to tackle and without compromising the desktop experience. So what else does it get right?

Settings things straight

One thing that’s gone from Windows 8 was the much-hated Charms bar. In fact settings has had a complete makeover for the better. For starters all the key settings are now in one place, called Settings, which is easily accessible from the Start menu. This new app has a clean and clear design, and is spaced so that you can also make changes via a touchscreen.

Speaking of touchscreen devices there’s now the Action Centre. This slides out from the right of the screen at a swipe and provides quick access to the kind of settings you need from on a mobile device but not a static one: you can force your device into tablet mode, adjust screen brightness, enagage Flight mode and more, as well as access the main settings if required.

Desktop management

Whether you’re at your desk on the go, Windows 10 has numerous tools and shortcuts for keeping that mass of tasks and windows in check. It’s expanded on previous efforts and you can now quickly snap windows to full screen, half screen and even quarter screen using keyboard shortcuts (primarily the Windows key and cursor keys). When you snap a windows to half the screen it offers up your other open windows to fill the other half. All this also works well on touchscreen devices, but with swipes and drags replacing the keyboard shortcuts.

Read more in how to manage windows in Windows 10

Even if you just want to use one app at a time, Windows 10 has you covered. Task switching is much improved thanks to the new Task View. This brings up thumbnails of all your open windows, so you can select the one you need. It also shows you any virtual desktops you have, so you can switch between them.

See, how to switch tasks in Windows 10

Yes, that’s right, Windows now has built-in virtual desktops, which will have organised types celebrating. Now you can divide up your tasks over numerous desktops, with different tasks for each. It means that you can have a desktop for each project you’re working on, or have one for work and one for play. We found we could have fullscreen apps open on multiple desktops and then flick between them in an instant, from a game, to Netflix, to a word doc, just like that.

See, how to use virtual desktops in Windows 10

As always, Windows is more than happy to play host for multiple users. You can add any number of user accounts: Microsoft accounts for slick integration with the company’s cloud services such as Outlook, Office and OneDrive; local accounts for a more traditional and private desktop experience; or accounts with parental controls, so you can restrict and monitor their usage. It’s a complete package and offers flexibility and controls that neither Android or iOS can compete with.

See, how to manage users in Windows 10

What does it get wrong?

It’s not all so brilliant of course. With a few issues that need to be addressed, although the key one isn’t entirely Microsoft’s fault. Put simply, app support for Windows 8 and, now, Windows 10 still isn’t great. There’s a good selection of apps from the big players (Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, Kindle, etc.) but more local content is a little thin on the ground (there's no Guardian app, for example). Meanwhile games that should be in the Windows Store simply aren’t there, including the popular Hearthstone.

There’s a good reason for this and that is, why would a publisher push their Windows apps through the store and pay a percentage on everything it earns through Microsoft, when it can simply make desktop apps and reap any rewards directly? This changes slightly with mobile and touchscreen devices, where people are used to app stores and want a touch-friendly version of an app, but developers need to be conviced to stock the store, so that Microsoft can compete with iOS and Android.

There are also a couple of rough edges. For example the user accounts screen still looks a liitle like it did in previous versions and could do with an update. The new Edge browser also looks a bit sluggish in all the usual browser benchmarks (see, Microsoft Edge vs Internet Explorer vs Chrome), although such synthetic tests aren’t the best way to replicate real world results and we’ve been using it without a problem. And, of course, there’s always other browsers to install if you should wish.

There's a few things you might miss from previous version of Windows, but nothing that can't be easily replaced. See our guide on how to replace the six features missing from Windows 10.

Performance

Although Windows 10 has the same system requirements as Windows 8 and Windows 7, we decided to see how modern hardware could cope with it, so we ran our 4K benchmarks on a Windows 8.1 system, re-running the tests after we'd upgraded to Windows 10. We're pleased to say that Windows 10 has no performance impact. In our tests, our PC scored 110 running Windows 8.1 and 111 running Windows 10. An increase of one point in our tests is not statistically valid, showing that the performance is identical. In other words, if your computer's happy running Windows 7 or Windows 8 it will be happy running Windows 10.

Conclusion

With Microsoft starting to get to grips with a mobile-friendly operating system it makes sense to compare it more-and-more with the competition’s mobile offerings. While Apple has kept OS X and iOS clearly separate, Microsoft is providing a single operating system that runs across a wide range of devices, both with and without touchscreens.

In that respect, Windows 10 is a big step forward over its muddled predecessor. It succeeds in providing a mobile experience that can only improve with time, with better hardware and more apps almost a certainty with such a huge user base. Microsoft has done this while maintaining the highly-productive and easy-to-grasp desktop operating system that been around for decades. It improves here too, but not in ways that will frustrate or annoy anyone.

In short, go for it. If your PC passes the minimum specs then you should be more than happy with the upgrade. It looks better, it works better and it does more, plus it’s free for almost everyone (or £100 if not).