Monday 01 June 2015 5:53 am

Windows 10 release date: Free update launches 29 July to suceed Windows 8

Microsoft will release the latest incarnation of its operating system (OS) at the end of July, it revealed today.

Windows 10 (not Windows 9, despite it following Windows 8, the current version), will be available from 29 July as a free upgrade.

The OS will be free to anyone currently using Windows 7 onwards, and will run on its phones, tablets and Xbox, as well as traditional desktop PCs.

After a less-than-warm reception for Windows 8 in 2012, this is the first OS to be released under boss Satya Nadella and it comes with the Start menu that Microsoft admits "you know and love" and was missing from Windows 8.

Windows 10 also brings Microsoft's Siri-like voice assistant Cortana to desktop computers. The OS has taken further inspiration from rival Apple, as Windows 10 will be iterative, with updates over time.

Here's everything Microsoft wants you to know about Windows 10, in one quick video.

Microsoft isn't the only tech company making updates to its operating system. Apple is expected to reveal iOS 9 for iPads and iPhones and OS X 10.11 for Macs, as well as a music streaming service to rival Spotify, at its developer conference next week. Find out more about Apple's plans.