Windows 10 has twelve editions (excluding the four "N" editions), all with varying feature sets, use cases, or intended devices. Certain editions are distributed only on devices directly from a device manufacturer, while editions such as Enterprise and Education are only available through volume licensing channels. Microsoft also makes editions of Windows 10 available to device manufacturers for use on specific classes of devices, including smartphones (Windows 10 Mobile) and IoT devices.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Baseline editions
Baseline editions are the only editions available as standalone purchases in the retail outlets.
Organizational editions
These editions add features to facilitate centralized control of many installations of the OS within an organization. The main avenue of acquiring them is a volume licensing contract with Microsoft.
Device-specific editions
These editions are licensed to device manufacturers only. The main avenue of purchasing these editions is through buying a specific device (e.g. smartphones) that have them pre-installed.
Future editions
On 10 August 2017, Microsoft announced a Pro for Workstations edition to be made available in September, along with the Fall Creators Update for Windows 10. This edition is designed for high-end hardware for intensive computing tasks and supports Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron processors, up to 4 CPUs, up to 6TB RAM, the ReFS file system, Non-Volatile Dual In-line Memory Module (NVDIMM) and remote direct memory access (RDMA). The announcement included no licensing details.
Variations
As with previous versions of Windows since XP, all Windows 10 editions for PC hardware have "N" and "KN" variations in Europe and South Korea that exclude certain bundled multimedia functionality, including media players and related components, in order to comply with antitrust rulings. The "Media Feature Pack" can be installed to restore these features.
As with Windows 8.1, a reduced-price "Windows 10 with Bing" SKU is available to OEMs; it is subsidized by having Microsoft's Bing search engine set as default, which cannot be changed to a different search engine by OEMs. It is intended primarily for low-cost devices, and is otherwise identical to Windows 10 Home.
In May 2017, it was reported that Microsoft had, as part of its partnership with China Electronics Technology Group, created made a specially-modified version of Windows 10 Enterprise designed for use within branches of the Chinese government. This version is pre-configured to "remove features that are not needed by Chinese government employees", and allow the use of its internal encryption algorithms.
Comparison chart
Microsoft OEM licensing formula takes display size, RAM capacity and storage capacity into account. In mid-2015, devices with 4 GB RAM were expected to be $20 more expensive than devices with 2 GB RAM.
Upgrade path
Free upgrade
At the time of launch, Microsoft deemed Windows 7 (with Service Pack 1), Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users eligible to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge, so long as the upgrade takes place within one year of Windows 10's initial release date. Windows RT and the respective Enterprise editions of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 were excluded from this offer. Since July 29, 2016, Windows 10 is no longer offered as a free upgrade, instead a license must be purchased.
Commercial upgrade
The following table summarizes possible upgrade paths that can be taken, provided that proper licenses are purchased.
Release branches
New builds of Windows 10, known as feature updates, are, since 2017, released biannually in March and September of each year. Each feature update contain new features and other changes to the operating system. The pace at which a system receives feature updates is dependent on the release branch from which the system downloads its updates. Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise and Education can optionally use a branch that receives updates at a slower pace. These modes can be managed through system settings, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update for Business, Group Policy or through mobile device management systems such as Microsoft Intune.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
EmoticonEmoticon