Redmond-based tech titan Microsoft announced on Monday that it would be releasing free Windows 10 downloads from July 29 in the form of a free upgrade. The announcement follows Microsoft's earlier promise that the latest operating system will come sometime during this summer.

IB Times reports that traditionally, any new Windows version comes for more than $100, but Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade for users already using Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 on their devices and they can redeem their update within a year. Different from Apple, which has been making its operating system available to users on their older devices, people using Windows need to upgrade their system by purchasing a new machine and not by downloading the latest software onto their old devices.

Meanwhile, Britain's Guardian newspaper has reported that Windows 10 will be released in the United Kingdom on July 28.

According to reports, the Redmond-based tech giant has been hoping high on Windows 10. While the Internet Explorer, the openly mocked Internet browser of Microsoft, will eventually be replaced by the Edge browser. Now the company hopes that its voice-controlled assistant Cortana will expand beyond smartphones on Windows 10, possibly giving Microsoft a feature that will compete with Google Now and Apple's Siri.

A statement released by the company on Monday read, "With Windows 10, we start delivering on our vision of more personal computing, defined by trust in how we protect and respect your personal information, mobility of the experience across your devices, and natural interactions with your windows devices,, including speech, touch, ink, and holograms."

According to Microsoft, "We designed Windows 10 to run our broadest device family ever, including Windows PCs, Windows tablets, Windows phones, Windows for the Internet of Things, Microsoft Surface Hub, Xbox One and Microsoft HoloLens - all working together."