Windows 10 isn’t just a new operating system; it’s a new way of delivering an operating system as well. In theory, Windows as a Service promises a continuous stream of new features alongside the familiar security updates, in place of saving up new features for three years and then trying to persuade users those features are worth the cost of an upgrade.
“This is increasingly the way the industry is heading,” says Gabriel Aul, corporate vice president for the Engineering Systems team in the Windows and Devices group at Microsoft. “It’s by no means isolated to technology companies. For instance, you even see automotive companies like Tesla using a services model to provide new benefits to customers. We saw it as a natural evolution for Windows.”
And Microsoft has been using the services model for years with its regular security updates, Aul says, and Windows 10 lets the company take it to a new level. “We really do believe Windows 10 is the best Windows ever, and embracing a services model lets us keep making the experience even better with additional productivity, safety and entertainment value offered over time,” he says.
That’s the theory. However even before Windows 10 shipped, there was considerable pushback against the new Windows as a Service model — and specially against using different branches to deliver updates at diverse speeds, including Current Branch for consumers, who will get update downloads as soon as they occur without the option to postpone them, and Current Branch for Business for businesses that want to delay updates .
But while a great deal of attention has been given to concerns that Microsoft’s new service policy gives you “updates whether you want them or not,” there’s been much less discussion of other implications of this approach: What this means when it comes to features that have been delayed or even downgraded before they get updated.
