- Microsoft Windows 11: Features, release date and more for the next generation of Windows How to download Windows 11: Get the free Windows update now
Windows 1.0 (1985)
Initially, Windows was little more than operating environment add-on for DOS. Nonetheless, the foundations were set.
Windows 2.0 (1987)
The second iteration of Windows was all about improvements to the memory management and the interface. Multi-tasking became a possibility too.
Windows 3.0, 3.1 & 3.11 (1990)
Windows 3.0 was the first success for Microsoft in the commercial sense. Selling 2 million copies in its first six months.
Windows 95 (1995)
10 years after the original Windows launch, the operating system had changed a lot both in terms of design and capabilities.
- Windows 95 at 25: Here’s why it changed the PC world
Windows 98 (1998)
Despite improvements, Windows 98 was much maligned for its slowness and unreliability compared to the previous release.
Windows ME (2000)
Windows Millennium Edition was mostly seen as a failure and criticised heavily for being very unstable.
Windows XP (2001)
Windows XP was the best version of Windows to date and is still fondly remembered by many.
Windows Vista (2006)
Vista was another failure for Microsoft. User Account Control made life difficult for many and Vista was resource intensive too.
Windows 7 (2009)
Windows 7 was technically the eighth release and fortunately much more successful than Vista thanks to much better power management.
Windows 8 (2012)
Windows 8 was another failure, this time due to a less than intuitive user-interface which left users scratching their heads.
Windows 8.1 (2013)
A free upgrade for Windows 8 users that was intended to fix many of the problems that people were complaining about at the time.
Windows 10 (2015)
Windows 10 essentially restored the tried-and-tested design of the operating system while breathing new life into it with a fresh, clean and modern design.
