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Windows 10 version history

history of minor versions of the Windows 10 operating system

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ21208917
Source-derived summary

Windows 10 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. Microsoft described Windows 10 as an "operating system as a service" that would receive ongoing updates to its features and functionality, augmented with the ability for enterprise environments to receive non-critical updates at a slower pace or use long-term support milestones that will only receive critical updates, such as security patches, over their five-year lifespan of mainstream support. It was released on July 29, 2015.

Overview

Releases

Mainstream builds of Windows 10 are labeled "YYMM", with YY representing the two-digit year and MM representing the month of planned release (for example, version 1507 refers to builds which initially released in July 2015). Starting with version 20H2, Windows 10 release nomenclature changed from the year and month pattern to a year and half-year pattern (YYH1, YYH2).

Version 1507 (original release)

The original version of Windows 10 (also retroactively named version 1507 and codenamed "Threshold 1") was released in July 2015. It carries the build number 10.0.10240; while Microsoft has stated that there was no designated release to manufacturing (RTM) build of Windows 10, build 10240 was described as an RTM build by various media outlets. It was retroactively named "version 1507" by Microsoft per its naming conventions that have the last 2 digits of the year and the month number for future stable releases of the operating system.

Notable changes in this version include:

An updated start menu

The introduction of Cortana, a virtual assistant, to the desktop version of Windows

A "Continuum" mode that allows users to switch between desktop mode and tablet mode

"Action Center", which includes notifications and quick access to settings

A new web browser, Microsoft Edge Legacy, that replaces Internet Explorer as the default browser in Windows

Improved multitasking, including virtual desktops

Many updated built-in apps

The final release was made available to Windows Insiders on July 15, 2015, followed by a public release on July 29, 2015.

The update has reached end of service on May 9, 2017 in the Current Branch and Current Branch for Business.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Windows 10 version history” is history of minor versions of the Windows 10 operating system. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Windows, version and history, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2015, 1507, 2017—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Windows, version and history is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “history of minor versions of the Windows 10 operating system” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21208917. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2015, 1507 and 2017.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Windows 10 version history”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Windows 10 version history primary sources, Windows 10 version history archive and Windows research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Windows 10 version history”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Windows 10 version history” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.