There will be no breaks for the majority of Microsoft customers wishing to upgrade to Windows 8.1 when it goes live Oct. 18.
Anyone upgrading from Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 will have to shell out $119.99 for Windows 8.1 or $199.99 for Windows 8.1 Pro. The price is the same whether a customer downloads from Windows.com or buys a retail-packaged DVD at a store.
Windows 8 customers, however, can upgrade for free.
“One shift to note in Windows 8.1 is that we will be offering ‘full version software’ at retail and online for download that does not require a previous version of Windows in order to be installed,” reads a company blog post.
“The copy of Windows 8 that is currently available for sale at retail and online is an ‘upgrade version.’ This shift allows more flexibility for customers in specific technical scenarios and is in response to feedback we’ve received. It will be easier for those consumers who want to build PCs from scratch, run Windows 8.1 in Virtual Machine (VM) environments, or run Windows 8.1 on a second hard drive partition.”
Windows 8.1 addresses many of users’ concerns. CEO Steve Ballmer has said the update contains “a heck of a lot of movement, a heck of a lot of innovation, and a heck of lot of responsiveness, all coming to market in a really rapid time frame.”
Windows 8.1 features the return of the Start button, providing shortcuts to commands and apps, and the ability to boot to the traditional desktop layout.
Other changes include two new tile sizes (large and small) and the ability to sync customizations, apps and files across all Windows 8.1 devices.
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