Goodbye, Windows 10: You promised a unified platform, and I went all-in — from Xbox One to Lumia, I saw the dream die

It's a strange, bittersweet day for Windows, as Microsoft's previous-generation operating system simultaneously celebrates its 10th anniversary with a wealth of defining moments for Windows 10 while its steadfast users prepare for an impending end-of-life status due in October. Opinions are often divided on the various iterations of the company's paid OS, but Windows 10 stands as a more universally praised attempt that had a particularly interesting pitch.

Besides the unusual passing-over on Windows 9, an omission that itself is up for debate as to its origins, the skip-ahead to Windows 10 felt like a more significant leap forward than a simple generational level-up.

Microsoft promised a unified experience across its broad assortment of hardware as part of its "OneCore" ecosystem, essentially scaling Windows apps to practically any form factor, even away from a traditional desktop.

It was certainly alluring, and its marketing was appealing to me, particularly as a disgruntled user who so disliked the initial tablet-centric style of Windows 8 and its "Metro" Start menu design philosophy. After falling back to the comfortable familiarity of Windows 7 for a while, I'd eventually come back to a conventional desktop in Windows 8.1, but not before traveling a free upgrade path to Windows 10, alongside buying a wealth of Microsoft-branded devices to fill up my home.

Yeah, I bought into it pretty heavily. It's fair to say that I gradually went all-in, buying into Microsoft's vision with an onslaught on my wallet that was justified because I felt as though I was "future proofing" myself. I picked up an Xbox One console with a TV tuner add-on in the United Kingdom, eager for a DVR function that Microsoft promised would come in a later update to ensure I'd never have to use my TV provider's set-top box ever again.

Unsurprisingly, at least in hindsight, the DVR function for Xbox One never materialized, much to the disappointment of the few users who were expecting it, including me; frustrated by the forced reorganization of my entertainment setup after the first dream died.

To be clear, it's not as though television is something I ever associated with Windows, even after dabbling in Windows Media Center, an ambitious project for its time but one nevertheless destined for the "Microsoft Graveyard".

No, I was just trying to get a head start on my newfound and all-encompassing life within the Microsoft ecosystem by consolidating as much of my hardware and software as possible. I signed up for a Groove Music Pass, moved from Google's Gmail to Microsoft Outlook, and started backing up my life's work to SkyDrive — now known as OneDrive — all in preparation for my next purchase: a Nokia Lumia 735 (after changing my mind and exchanging the Microsoft Lumia 640 days before), to complete a switch from iOS to Windows Phone.

The youth of today might look at the colorful Lumia slabs and wonder whatever happened to those useful Live Tiles decorating the home screens. Now, these overlooked smartphones will likely be relegated to modern memory as "the one used by Trevor in Grand Theft Auto V".

Little would they know of how a now-dead Windows 10 Mobile might have disrupted the market by becoming a strong third player, but a lack of support for my mobile banking app and a handful of other annoyances had me defecting to Android phones a couple of years later.

Around this time, my Windows 10 PC had no issues whatsoever, so my primary interest in Microsoft was holding strong. In fact, it was a breath of fresh air, proving to be as popular with my future boss Daniel Rubino in his original Windows 10 review, but it was everything floating around it that was starting to falter and plunge, like a collection of junk satellites orbiting an otherwise healthy product, trying to hold my praise.

An escapade with the Microsoft Band 2 was, to my knowledge at least, the final brand-new purchase of that era that I grabbed without question — and what a way to go out. It was a great fitness companion that paired well with the Lumia, and eventually, partially well with the slew of boring Android phones that I was slipping between, never living up to the hype of the Lumia 1020's glorious camera that I always craved but never had a chance to try.

Over the past few years, I've migrated all of my devices to Windows 11, including a second-hand Surface Pro X with its first-generation Microsoft SQ1 processor that I picked up just for fun, replacing its original Windows 10 installation. It's still going strong, serving as little more than a glorified web browser while I'm on the couch looking to kill time, but at least it's still alive.

It's more than I can say for my Xbox One, Microsoft Band, and Windows Phone that are collecting dust as little more than paperweight ornaments, still trying to connect to lifeless Microsoft apps and services that were axed years ago. Now, Windows 11 just feels like the obvious choice, standing as the world's most compatible and widely supported OS, but I still flirt with Linux via SteamOS and Fedora KDE, reliant on a UI that resembles Microsoft's iconic desktop.

For me, Windows 10 quietly fades away in the background, collected with other Microsoft-made fascinations of its time, but at least it stands as the best example among them. For those who cling to it with adoration and even an obligation to certain apps — I get it — but a decade is long enough. It's time to make a decision, whether that's with an upgrade to Windows 11, sticking around with extended security updates, or finding a replacement OS elsewhere.

.. At least I never bought a Kinect.