14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 is a game changer not only for Microsoft but also for Redmond’s partners building devices, and many expect the new operating system to bring a somewhat notable increase in terms of new PC sales.
But Intel is not as optimistic as the others, and the company’s CEO Brian Krzanich has recently said during a meeting with shareholders that he expects sales of new PCs to go slightly down despite the fact that Windows 10 is due to arrive very soon.
“We are going through another transition, Windows 10 upgrades… We’re seeing some quarter-to-quarter pushing, but we continue to take a view of our long-term forecast… the PC market should be flat to slightly down mid single-digits over the long-term,” he is quoted as saying by BI.
Windows 10 will be free for Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs
Krzanich’s forecast is very likely to be accurate for a very simple reason: Windows 10 will be offered free of charge to those on Windows 7 and 8.1, so fewer users would actually decide to purchase a new computer just because a new OS comes out. Their existing hardware configurations should be able to run Windows 10 flawlessly, so fewer PC upgrades would be needed.
Windows 7 is currently the world’s number one desktop operating system, with a share of more than 50 percent (this means that 1 in 2 PCs is powered by Windows 7), and since Windows 10 will be offered at no cost for computers running it, no one would want to buy a new one just to run Microsoft’s latest OS version.
In the past, every time a new Windows version came out, hardware upgrades were necessary because of the different system requirements, but this time, Microsoft is keeping Windows 10’s exactly the same as Windows 8.1’s.
Here are the Windows 10 system requirements, as provided by Microsoft:
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster. RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Free hard disk space: 16 GB. Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver. A Microsoft account and Internet access.
Windows 10 is projected to launch this summer, so only time will tell if the new OS can make a difference in terms of new PC sales or not.