Looking Back at Ten Years of Windows 10 and Where Things Go From Here [Paid Subs]

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.”