Looking Back at Ten Years of Windows 10 and Where Things Go From Here
Windows 10 turned ten this week, but millions are still using it. Here’s a look at what it got right, what went wrong, and why it’s not going away anytime soon.
But looking back, the story of Windows 10 is far more complicated than a simple judgment of success or failure. It was a decade of constant updates, shifting visions, major experiments, and numerous changes that still influence how people use their computers today.
Windows 10 officially launched on July 29, 2015. At the time, it was welcomed as a return to form, especially after the widely criticized Windows 8. As of 2025, Windows 10 has reached the end of its planned lifecycle, and the industry is gradually transitioning to Windows 11, with Windows 12 rumored after that.
Making Things Right After Windows 8
As Paul Thurrott put it on Windows Weekly #943, “Windows 10 was so welcome and so necessary.” After Windows 8’s tablet-focused design missteps, Microsoft needed to regain trust. They brought in the Windows Phone team, people who, according to Thurrott, had “a pretty good vision for it all.” The Start Menu returned, and the system felt more familiar again.
But the launch itself was low-key. “Windows 8 had this major launch event in New York City,” Thurrott recalled. “Windows 10, I think they launched it like a bake sale at a church somewhere in Northern California.”
The “Last Version of Windows” Myth
Early on, a Microsoft employee casually described Windows 10 as “the last version of Windows.” That line stuck, even though it was never official policy. Microsoft’s actual approach was to roll out major feature updates every six months, part of a new “Windows as a Service” model. In theory, Windows would now evolve continuously. In reality, it was unpredictable and often disruptive.
Windows as a Service, Fast Updates, Big Problems
Those early updates were large, slow, and at times deeply flawed. Chris Hoffman remembered, “The first big Windows 10 update actually uninstalled some of the programs on people’s computers.” Some updates removed drivers or broke key functionality with little warning.
One of the Worst Incidents Came in 2018
As reported by Ars Technica, the October 2018 update “caused files to be deleted, meaning that the only guaranteed way of restoring them is to retrieve them from a backup (if you have one)”. Microsoft had to pause the rollout. According to InfoPackets, a “second file deletion bug” appeared later, leading some to question “Microsoft’s review process”.
Eventually, the update model improved. “It’s death by a thousand cuts instead of getting hit by a brick,” Paul said. Not ideal, but no longer as disruptive.
How Not to Push an Upgrade
One of the most contentious aspects of the Windows 10 timeline was Microsoft’s campaign to encourage users to upgrade. The Get Windows 10 (GWX) tool was persistent and, in many cases, misleading.
As Computerworld described, Microsoft made it so that “closing the notification” window about upgrading “implies consent” to proceed with the installation.
In one case, BleepingComputer reported that a user was “awarded $10,000 in damages” after a forced upgrade left her PC unusable.
Eventually, as GHacks mentioned, Microsoft admitted the approach was too aggressive. CMO Chris Capossela said they “went too far,” and that balancing security goals with user control had been difficult.
Ads, Telemetry, and Privacy Pushback
Windows 10 was also known for introducing more advertising and telemetry into the core experience. It wasn’t just preinstalled games. There were ads in the Start Menu, in File Explorer, and even inside system settings. Given that many users received Windows 10 for free as an upgrade from Windows 7, this was apparently how Microsoft chose to partly monetize Windows.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation raised concerns early. In a statement shared by The Verge, they said, “Windows 10 sends an unprecedented amount of usage data back to Microsoft. While users can disable some of these settings, it is not a guarantee that your computer will stop talking to Microsoft’s servers”.
CSO Online added that “Windows 10’s aggressive data-collection capabilities may concern users about corporate spying. Enterprises have control that consumer-edition Windows users do not”.
European regulators also remained critical. As Axios reported, Microsoft’s revisions didn’t go far enough to satisfy concerns that users were being forced to trade privacy for security.
The Vision That Didn’t Land: Universal Windows, Live Tiles, and Touchscreens
Microsoft wanted Windows 10 to work on every kind of device. Phones, tablets, PCs, HoloLens, Xbox, and even Surface Hub were supposed to run the same apps using a shared app model. It never quite worked.
Live tiles were central to the design, but only modern apps could use them.
“If you use Steam, or any other desktop app, and it wanted to put a live tile in your Start Menu, too bad,” Chris said on Windows Weekly. Most users never saw anything useful on their tiles.
Touchscreens were another bet that didn’t pay off for everyone.
As Paul admitted, “I would give anything not to have a touchscreen on every laptop I own.” And yet, nearly all new laptops include them.
Chris noted that manufacturers probably wouldn’t have added touchscreens so widely “if we were just starting fresh in the days of Windows 11.”
The Good Stuff, WSL and Winget
Not everything in Windows 10 was a misstep. Some features genuinely improved how people work with the system.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) made Windows more useful to developers.
“That was a huge embrace of the developer community,” Chris said.
Winget, Microsoft’s package manager, also brought a long-missing feature to Windows.
“I use Winget extensively,” Paul said. “It’s awesome just for blasting a bunch of apps on [a new laptop] automatically.”
While not perfect, it’s a huge step forward for automation and setup, and now it’s a viable alternative to PatchMyPC and Ninite using UniGetUI.
The Need for Windows 10 Isn’t Going Away
Although Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 in October 2025, the need to continue using it remains widespread. Many older PCs don’t officially meet Windows 11’s hardware requirements, and regular users aren't eager to replace working systems just to stay compliant without compelling reasons.
Microsoft has introduced an Extended Security Updates (ESU) program that will provide critical updates through at least October 2028. It’s free for home users as long as they jump through some hoops. Organizations must pay, and this can be costly or difficult to manage.
That’s where third-party options like 0patch step in. They offer “micropatches” for security vulnerabilities on unsupported Windows versions, and have already announced their intention to support Windows 10 beyond its official end-of-life date.
These services are becoming essential for anyone who still relies on Windows 10, especially in education, healthcare, and budget-constrained environments where upgrades are not always feasible.
Still in Use, and Still Familiar
Windows 10 is still active on hundreds of millions of PCs. Many users are sticking with it because Windows 11's hardware rules exclude them, but also the harsh truth that Windows 11 doesn’t offer compelling reasons to upgrade.
Microsoft promised support “for the lifetime of the device,” but never clearly defined what that meant. As Chris pointed out, “The industry isn’t really upfront with people about this.”
Still, Windows 10 made it to a full decade.
“People will be using Windows 10 long after it isn’t supported,” Paul noted. “It benefited from the same thing that Windows 7 benefited from, which was that everyone hated its predecessor so much.”
Conclusion: Not the Last Version, but a Lasting One
Windows 10 was never truly the final version of Windows, but it did mark a transition in how Microsoft approached the operating system. It introduced faster updates, improved tooling for developers, and a more modern interface, alongside forced upgrades, excessive telemetry, and a confusing mix of old and new features.
In 2025, Windows 10 remains part of the daily reality for millions of users, not just because it works, but because alternatives or upgrading don’t always make sense.
You can hear the full conversation on Windows Weekly #943, or download Paul Thurrott’s Windows 10 Field Guide, free through August 1.
Thanks for being a paid subscriber! You make my work possible.