All Windows Versions And Their Features

[Bertoldo Beyer]

Windows10 has several editions, all with varying feature sets, use cases, or intended devices. Certain editions are distributed only on devices directly from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), while editions such as Enterprise and Education are only available through volume licensing channels. Microsoft also makes editions of Windows 10 available to device manufacturers for use on specific classes of devices, including IoT devices, and previously marketed Windows 10 Mobile for smartphones.

Since 2018, OEMs can ship Windows 10 Home and Pro in a feature-limited variation named S mode which evolved from the discontinued Windows 10 S. Organizations employing Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 10 Education can make use of S mode too.[16] S mode is a feature-limited edition of Windows 10 designed primarily for low-end devices in the education market. It has a faster initial setup and login process, and allows devices to be provisioned using a USB drive with the "Set Up School PCs" app.

With the exception of the Microsoft Teams desktop client which was made available for S mode in April 2019,[citation needed] the installation of software (both Universal Windows Platform (UWP) and Windows API apps) is only possible through the Microsoft Store, and built-in and Microsoft Store-obtained command line programs or shells cannot be run in this mode.[17][18][19][20] System settings are locked to allow only Microsoft Edge as the default web browser with Bing as its search engine.[21] The operating system may be switched out of S mode using the Microsoft Store for free. However, once S Mode is turned off, it cannot be re-enabled.[22][23] All Windows 10 devices in S mode include a free one-year subscription to Minecraft: Education Edition.[citation needed] Critics have compared the edition to Windows RT, and have considered it to be an alternative to ChromeOS.[22][24][25][26][27]

Rebranded from Microsoft's earlier operating system editions in the Windows Embedded family. Binary identical to their non-IoT counterparts with version 1809 and older,[31] while newer versions add support for smaller storage devices.[32][33] Available via OEMs and volume licensing for specific versions.[34]

The following editions of Windows 10 were discontinued (as of Windows 10 version 21H2). For both Mobile and Mobile Enterprise, Microsoft confirmed it was exiting the consumer mobile devices market, so no successor product is available.[40]

Microsoft OEM licensing formula takes display size, RAM capacity and storage capacity into account. In mid-2015, devices with 4 GB RAM were expected to be $20 more expensive than devices with 2 GB RAM.[87]

At the time of launch, Microsoft deemed Windows 7 (with Service Pack 1) and Windows 8.1 users eligible to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge, so long as the upgrade took place within one year of Windows 10's initial release date. Windows RT and the respective Enterprise editions of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 were excluded from this offer.[88]

Microsoft releases minor versions of Windows 10 through the free feature updates.[12] Originally, Microsoft released feature updates semiannually. They contained new features as well as changes.[92] With the release of Windows 11, however, Microsoft has changed the release schedule to annual. These feature updates do not contain any noticeable changes.

Windows Insider is a beta testing program that allows access to pre-release builds of Windows 10, enabling power users, developers, and vendors to test and provide feedback on future feature updates to Windows 10 as they are developed. Before the release of Windows 11, Windows Insider itself consisted of four "rings":

Since 2022, the General Availability Channel (GAC) distributes feature updates annually. To receive these updates, users must either request them manually or wait for their version of Windows 10 to go out of support.

Since version 1903, Microsoft dismantled the two-channel scheme in favor of a unified "Semi-Annual Channel" (SAC). Microsoft supports each SAC version of Windows for 30 months. Windows no longer installs new feature updates automatically before the expiry of the 30-months support period. With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft changed the release schedule to annual, and change the channel's name to "General Availability Channel" (GAC).

Microsoft discourages the use of LTSC editions outside of "special-purpose devices" that perform a fixed function and thus do not require new user experience features. As a result, these editions do not come with Microsoft Store, most Cortana features, and most bundled apps.[12][1][3] LTSC was originally called the "Long-Term Servicing Branch" (LTSB) until 2016.[13]

However, I now see that there is a Mac version of Business & Personal! Does it have feature parity with the Windows version? Are there any features in the Windows version that are missing from the Mac version?

In my opinion Quicken Windows and Quicken Mac will NEVER have total functionality parity. I might add, that isn't just one way. I already see some features in Quicken Mac that would be nice in Quicken Windows, but doubt that it will ever get them.

So, just making a statement that they should have parity really doesn't get any real results. Instead, people should look at what they absolutely need, what is nice, and so forth, and judge based on that as time goes on.

But I will also say something that @jacobs says all the time, there are things that they do differently. One has to be flexible is you are looking for a ridge it works exactly the same, that is going to be as much of a fantasy as "complete parity".

@mikedr I think the two highlight features which Quicken Mac Business & Personal does not yet have at this early stage of development are invoicing and rental property management. We know from the developers that invoicing is coming. I don't know if they have stated yea or nay on rental property management features, but it's likely those will follow at some point. There are also small things not yet completed, such as being able to enter business and personal mileage for tracking, but not yet having any way to print a report or export the trips data. (That too has been promised as forthcoming.) I'm not familiar enough with the Quicken version to know what else of importance might need to be created in the Quicken Mac version.

Good topic and I have 2 questions on importing to this new 'Business and Persona'l version:

1. Is this a desktop or cloud version? Quicken site does not show that at least on the product page (first post so I cant post the link).

2A: I am coming from a Quicken Mac Ver. 16.2.4 (build 25.886.100), can I import to this new version via the backup or QIF file? Ergo, do I have to go from Mac to Mac or can I install on Windows or is it all cloud-based?

Thank in advance. ?

All Quicken Classic software (Starter, Deluxe,Premier, Business & Personal) is desktop software, just like the old version you have been using. There is a companion cloud site and mobile app you can log into if you choose to sync your data to Quicken's cloud service, but you don't need to (and some would recommend not doing so unless you really need that functionality). Quicken has a separate product called Simplifi which is web-based.

There are both Windows and Mac versions. They are not identical, and they are not interoperable. (There are conversion utilities to move from one platform to the other, but they may not be perfect for all users, and definitely aren't suited for moving back and forth.) Read this thread for the differences between Quicken Windows Business & Personal and the recently-released Mac Business & Personal, which is in its early days and still lacks a lot of functionality.

That sounds like you're describing Quicken for Mac 2007, is that correct? If so, the current Quicken Mac can create a new data file by exporting and importing the data in your Quicken Mac 2007 data file(s). Part of the conversion process runs through a Quicken web server, but it's all point-and-go seamless to you as a user. You cannot import from a QIF export. You just need your live Quicken 2007 data file. Before moving it from the old computer to the new one, I'd suggest doing File > Compress in the Finder to create a .zip copy of your data file. The .zip file is safe to move from one computer to another.

If you want to use Quicken Windows, you would first need to import your Quicken Mac 2007 data into modern Quicken Mac, and then try migrating that data to Quicken Windows. Quicken Windows cannot import from a Quicken Mac 2007 data file.

Actually, to be clear, to migrate from Mac to Windows or the other way, you have to use the QXF export file format from Quicken to import into the other version (vs on the same platform, there is no conversion or export/import needed). And note that you do lose some set-ups, like reports, repeating transactions, and all other set-up info. The conversion is fairly good but there are some things that may not be perfect or even missing, so it may require some data clean-up.

@jacobs , very helpful on all points. And thanks as well to @smayer97 for your input. I will defer to your reply to Jacob on the QXF file. I'm not in there right now. I will continue to track.

@jacobs, I do have a follow on question from your reply. So to get my old Q Mac 2007 to the new Windows Business&Personal versions, I'd have to get both the new Mac ver. which will convert the data file and then import that file to the windows ver. so I can do invoicing and rentals stuff. Please clarify when you can - thanks.

And while were at it, here's a bonus question: on the Business and Personal ver., are there limitations on Schedule C's; can there be multiple business accounts, plus multiple rentals accounts?

If you want to go from QM2007 to QWin, there are two paths. The easiest is to import QM2007 into QMac. Conversion to QMac does require a one-time use of an online Quicken server to do the conversion but is all handled within QMac (as @jacobs alludes to). Then use QMac to generate the QXF to then import into QWin. This assumes you have access to a Mac that can run QMac. Officially, QMac needs macOS 10.15 or higher but I believe can still run on as low as 10.13, but is unsupported.

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