Microsoft announced Windows 10 (codename: Threshold) in September 2014. Unexpectedly, Windows 9 was skipped entirely. This post breaks down the first preview build and what to expect.
2026 note: Originally published in 2014. I wrote this when Windows 10 was first announced in 2014. Twelve years on, Windows 10 support ended in October 2025 — Windows 11 is now mainstream. Below I compare my 2014 expectations with what actually happened by 2026.
2014 Expectations (Original Post)
- The Start Menu is coming back. Windows 8’s biggest criticism. The classic Start (with live tiles) returns.
- Virtual desktops: macOS and Linux have had this for years; Windows finally joins.
- Cortana: Microsoft’s answer to Siri / Google Now.
- One core OS across PC, tablet, phone, Xbox.
- Edge browser: the IE successor.
What Actually Happened by 2026
- The Start Menu did come back, but live tiles got removed again in Windows 11 — nobody ever loved them.
- Virtual desktops succeeded, even better in Windows 11.
- Cortana largely failed. Microsoft Copilot (LLM-powered) replaced it as the default assistant since 2024.
- The one-core dream half-worked — Windows Phone died (2017), Xbox stayed separate. UWP/Universal Apps partly delivered.
- Edge struggled until it rebased on Chromium in 2020, then became a serious browser.
- Windows 11 launched in 2021 with a TPM 2.0 requirement that stranded many older PCs.
What to Do Today
If you’re still on Windows 10 and your hardware allows, upgrade to Windows 11 (free). On older hardware, consider Windows 10 LTSC or Linux Mint.
