It’s now been almost five years since Microsoft released Windows 10, but the almost 10-years-old Windows 7 is still alive and kicking. According to Statcounter, more than 33% of Windows PCs were still running Windows 7 last month, with 56.48% of users having already updated to Windows 10.
With Microsoft ending support for Windows 7 in January 2020, the company would really like these users to upgrade to Windows 10 to keep their PCs secure. However, that’s not so such an easing thing to do, especially since Windows 7 is probably still considered the best version of Windows by common agreement.
The Redmond giant is well aware that convincing Windows 7 die-hards to update isn’t an easy task. Today, Jen Gentleman from the Windows Insider team asked her Twitter followers what are the new features they would recommend to users in the process of updating to Windows 10, and that’s actually a really good question. The answers, as expected, were equally interesting.
If someone you knew was transitioning from W7 to W10, what features and or improvements would you tell them about? pic.twitter.com/TogbkDdmp2
— Jen Gentleman ? (@JenMsft) June 17, 2019
Many replies from power users mentioned Windows Ink, dark theme, the improved snipping tool, the new Action Center, the cloud clipboard, Timeline, Your Phone, as well as OneDrive Files-on-demand. Some new capabilities such as Cortana or My People didn’t get a lot of love, and that’s not really surprising as these features didn’t really resonate with consumers.
Interestingly, one person highlighted Windows Update, which probably isn’t exactly what you would call a fan-favorite feature. However, Windows 10 updates are now cumulative, which means that new patches include all previously released updates. This is a pretty good way to avoid “update fatigue” and situations where users decide to block all updates to avoid any interruptions in their workflow.
the best thing I like about Windows 10 is Windows Update. I remember the days when re-installing Windows 7 and you get endless update loops (300+ never-ending individual updates) I’m sure there are a zillion more improvements but I haven’t touched Windows 7 for so many years.
— James Portelli ☕ (@jamesport079) June 17, 2019
Last year, Microsoft said that it was finally fixing Windows Update so that your PC would no longer reboot while you’re busy. More recently, the Windows 10 May 2019 Update also allowed all Windows 10 users to pause updates for up to 35 days (Home users were previously limited to 7 days).
These Windows Update improvements are nice, but Windows 10’s real killer feature may well soon be the Your Phone app. Mac and iPhone users have been able to enjoy “continuity” features for years, with Text Message Forwarding between iPhone, iPad and Mac, seamless photo transfer between devices, and much more. Some of these things are now possible using Your Phone and an Android smartphone, but the app still remains a work in progress. However, it’s now clear that Android now has more synergies with Windows 10 that Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile never had, and it’s really great to access your phone’s text messages, recent pictures, and notifications right from your Windows 10 PC. A recent Your Phone update also brought a new screen mirroring feature, though it only works with select Android headsets for now.
Do you still know people who are not ready yet to update to Windows 10? If so, how would you convince them to finally make the jump? Let us know in the comments below.
Further reading: Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows update, Your Phone
