Windows 10 reaches 270 million devices in 8 months; update coming

Microsoft executives announced the milestone at a conference for developers in San Francisco, where it also revealed plans for a Windows 10 update with new features.

The sobering news for Windows 10 is that its success has not significantly shifted the dynamics of the tech industry, in which mobile platforms like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android have eclipsed Microsoft’s operating system among software developers hunting for the largest and most engaged audience of users.

To keep interest in Windows 10, Microsoft said Wednesday that it would refresh the software with an update that would connect users with Cortana, the virtual assistant in the operating system, without requiring a PC to be unlocked first.

The Windows 10 update will also have an enhancement to a feature called Windows Hello that lets people more securely log into Windows using biometric verification, like facial recognition.