Microsoft Corp. announced that Windows 10 will become available Wednesday as a free upgrade or come free with new PCs and tablets. The official launch held in Nairobi, Kenya with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in attendance.

Windows 10 comes with innovations such as Cortana,(2) an Xbox app and Microsoft Edge for a familiar, yet more personal and productive, experience. The new Windows Store and Windows Software Development Kit also become available Wednesday, opening the door to new and innovative app experiences on Windows 10.

“A new era of Windows starts today. From the beginning, Windows 10 has been unique — built with feedback from over 5 million fans, delivered as a service and offered as a free upgrade,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices Group, at Microsoft.

Upgrading to Windows 10 is easy for customers running a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC or tablet. Starting Wednesday, people who reserved their upgrade to Windows 10 here, will be notified in waves when their upgrade is ready to be installed. For business customers, Windows 10 is available to start deploying within their work environments, and starting Aug. 1, organizations that have volume licensing can upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

According to official statement, Windows 10 is the most secure Windows Microsoft has ever released, with enhancements to Windows Defender and SmartScreen to help safeguard against viruses, malware and phishing and innovations such as Windows Hello, though it requires specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors.

Windows 10 offers many innovative experiences and devices, including a new Microsoft Edge browser, an integrated Xbox app, file sharing app OneDrive, a phone companion app which enables iPhones, Android or Windows phones to work seamlessly with Windows 10 devices and an all new Office Mobile apps for Windows 10 tablets which are available today in the Windows Store.

Windows 10 also includes built-in, enterprise-grade security, so customers can replace passwords with more secure options, protect corporate data and corporate identities, and run only the software they trust. New management and deployment tools simplify device management, help lower costs, and enable companies to power their business with the enterprise strength of the Microsoft Azure cloud.

The new Windows Store will open Wednesday and begin accepting new apps for Windows 10. The Windows Store offers one-stop shopping for popular free and paid apps, games, movies, TV shows and the latest music, which can work across all Windows 10 devices. In addition to existing Windows 8.1 apps such as Netflix, Flipboard, Mint.com, “Asphalt 8: Airborne” and The Weather Channel, the Windows Store provides a constant stream of new and updated Universal Windows Apps and games, including Twitter, “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta,” Hulu, iHeartRadio, USA TODAY, “Candy Crush Saga” and  others including WeChat and QQ, which will launch soon.

Microsoft is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.