Microsoft has finally announced that its latest Windows 10 operating system will be launched this summer. Notwithstanding the announcement at the recently concluded Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) summit in China, Microsoft executive vice-president (Operating Systems) Terry Myerson did not give a precise date for the availability of the OS.

In a blog posted on Microsoft's official site, Myerson wrote, "We continue to make great development progress and shared today that Windows 10 will be available this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages," adding, "Windows has always been global with more than 1.5 billion users around the world and here in China hundreds of millions of PCs operate Windows today."

According to Tech Radar, Microsoft, which was once considered the OS for desktops and laptops, is now unifying its branding efforts under the Windows 10 moniker. As a "universal" OS, Windows 10 will be used for smartphones, tablets, PCs, laptops, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, as well as the Xbox home gaming console.

In fact, Microsoft has started a number of programs with Windows 10, counting a drive for common apps that run across different screens. Of late, Microsoft has declared that it would bring more security and expediency to Windows 10.

All new systems that will be shipping with Windows 10 and support biometric security hardware will let users to do without the password and instead use a fingerprint, face scan, or iris scan to log into Windows and apps, websites, and networks. The new native biometric authentication system has been dubbed as Windows Hello.

In his statement, Myerson further wrote, "I can't wait to see how amazing companies around the world will continue to innovate with devices running Windows 10." He added, "Working together I know we can create some incredible experiences with Windows 10 that will truly delight our customers."

Earlier, Microsoft had announced that consumers currently using Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 would be able to upgrade to Windows 10 on their PCs without any cost within the first year of operating system's release. However, Microsoft has yet to announce the precise upgrade pricing after the debut year for Windows 10.