Earlier this week, Microsoft revealed there will be seven different SKUs for Windows 10. Now a new report sheds some light on the different update options each SKU will have to receive patches and new features from Microsoft.
The report comes from Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet, who is well connected with her own sources both inside and outside of Microsoft. She states that when Windows 10 launches later in 2015, there will be three different update branches for the SKUs, the Current Branch (CB), the Current Branch for Business (CBB) and the Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB). Windows 10 Home, the variant that will be offered to PC consumers, will only have the Current Branch update option. Foley says:
"That means those users will have to take any new features, fixes and security updates that Microsoft pushes to them via Windows Update. (They will be pushed after Windows Insiders and Microsoft itself tests them.) Windows 10 Home users won't have the option of delaying or deferring anything. And for many consumers, that will be OK, if not welcome.
If you have a PC that has Windows 10 Pro installed, you can also choose the Current Branch update or you can pick the Current Branch for Business option. If that is picked, users can choose to get their OS patches from Windows Update, Windows Update for Business or Windows Server Update Services. That means users can wait to install patches that would be required under the Current Branch option, although Foley adds that, according to her sources, Windows 10 Pro users won't be able to delay those updates indefinitely. Windows 10 Education users will have the same update options as Windows 10 Pro owners.
Windows 10 Enterprise users will have the most options for updating their OS, with the choice of going to the Current Branch or Current Branch for Business, or the third Long Term Servicing Branch. That will allow enterprise users to just get Microsoft's security fixes for Windows 10 without adding any new features. So far there's no info on the update options for users who have Windows 10 Mobile or Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise.
Foley adds that people who decide to upgrade their Windows 7 or 8.1 PCs to Windows 10 under the "free for the first year" deal will only have the Windows Update branch option.
Source: ZDNet
