Windows 10 May Be Sold in USB Flash Drives by Microsoft: Report

Microsoft is reportedly planning to sell its Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro SKUs in retail stores via USB flash drives.

As per a report by WinFuture, a German website (via Windows Central), Microsoft will sell its Windows 10 Home and Pro SKUs in flash drives in addition to the regular DVD disk sales. It has been added that the USB flash drive version of the OS will allow users to install and license it for only one PC. Both the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions will be included in the flash drive version of Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. The Redmond-based tech firm is yet to confirm the rumour.

The company also had announced that Windows 10 Home would be available at $119 (Rs. 7,500 approximately) and Windows 10 Pro will be priced at $199 (Rs. 12,600 approximately) for new users. Users with valid Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 licences are eligible for free upgrades. However, these prices were for the US market and Windows 10 is likely to be priced differently in India and other regions. There's no official word yet on the India pricing for Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro.

Microsoft earlier this week said that Windows 10 Insider Preview users will only retain genuine and activated Windows 10 copies if they opt-in for future pre-release updates on either the Fast or Slow cycle. Users will need to continue updating to the latest preview build, or have the pre-release software licence of their build expire.

If users decide to opt-out of the updates, their builds will no longer be "activated under the terms of the Windows Insider Program", and they will be eligible for the same free upgrade offer as genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, while new users (including those coming in from Windows XP or Windows Vista) will have the paid upgrade path.