Windows 8 editions : A Comparison

Editions

Windows 8

Windows 8 is the basic edition of Windows for the x86 and x86-64 architectures. This edition contains features aimed at the home market segment and provides all of the basic new Windows 8 features including the Start screen with semantic zoom, live tiles, Windows Store, Internet Explorer 10, connected standby, Microsoft account integration, the Windows desktop and more.

Windows 8 Pro

Windows 8 Pro is comparable to Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate^[2][3] and is targeted towards enthusiasts and business users; it includes all the features of Windows 8. Additional features include the ability to receive Remote Desktop connections, the ability to participate in a Windows Server domain, Encrypting File System, Hyper-V, and Virtual Hard Disk Booting, Group Policy as well as BitLocker and BitLocker To Go. Windows Media Center functionality will be available only for Windows 8 Pro as a separate software package.^[4]

Windows 8 Enterprise

Windows 8 Enterprise provides all the features in Windows 8 Pro (except the ability to install the Windows Media Center add-on), with additional features to assist with IT organization (see table below).^[2] This edition is available to Software Assurance customers, as well as MSDN and Technet Professional subscribers, and was released on August 16, 2012.^[5]

Windows RT

Windows RT will only be available pre-installed on ARM-based devices such as tablet PCs.^[6] It will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the basic set of Office 2013 applications to users—Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, and support device encryption capabilities. Several business-focused features such as Group Policy and domain support are not included.

Unlike Windows Vista and Windows 7, there are no Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, or Ultimate editions.^[7]

Regional restrictions and variations

All editions have the ability to use language packs, enabling multiple user interface languages.^[3] (This functionality was previously only available in Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise.) However, in China and a small number of other emerging markets, an edition of Windows 8 without this capability will be offered.^[2] In China, a region-specific edition, Windows 8 for China, will be released, as confirmed by Steve Guggenheimer, Corporate Vice President.^[8] It will be offered at relatively low price in an attempt to curb rampant software piracy in China.

Additional Windows 8 editions specially destined for European markets have the letter "N" suffixed to their names and do not include a bundled copy of Windows Media Player. Microsoft was required to create the "N" editions of Windows after the European Commission ruled in 2004 that it needed to provide a copy of Windows without Windows Media Player tied in.

Upgrade compatibility

The following in-place upgrade paths are supported from Windows 7.^[2] Note that it is only possible to upgrade from a IA-32 version of Windows 7 to an IA-32 version of Windows 8; an x64 version of Windows 7 can only be upgraded to an x64 version of Windows 8. Windows RT cannot be installed on the same hardware that accepts Windows 7, as Windows RT is designed exclusively for ARM architecture's only which Windows Vista and 7 do not support. In addition, it is possible to upgrade Windows XP and Windows Vista to Windows 8 Pro.^[9]

Comparison chart