Microsoft will let Windows 10 S users with assisitve tech upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free

Windows 10 S is a new, lightweight version of Windows that lets users use apps only from the Windows Store. The new version is mostly aimed at students and schools, and Windows 10 S still has most of the features that you would find on Windows 10 Pro — but if you need to run a classic Win32 app that’s not available on the Windows Store, you’ll need to pay $49 to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

While that may be fine for many Windows 10 users, it may cause some issues for users who use assistive technologies on their device. Thankfully though, Microsoft today announced that the company will let assistive tech users upgrade to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 10 S for free. The company stated in a blog post that it’ll continue to work with its partners to bring more assistive technology apps to the Windows Store in the future, removing the need for users to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. But for the time being, assistive tech users will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free and that is indeed a great gesture from the software giant.

We recently announced Windows 10 S, which promises Windows 10 devices with faster boot times and improved security and reliability. We believe Windows 10 S is great for many customers. Others may prefer Windows Home or Windows Pro to meet their needs. Microsoft is committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities and providing choices for devices and modes for operating Windows. We will provide assistive technology users with a switch to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 10 S at no charge as we continue to improve our built-in assistive technology and bring more assistive technology apps to the Windows Store.

Microsoft also noted some of the upcoming accessiblity-related improvements that are coming to Windows 10 with the Fall Creators Update later this year. The new update will include a bunch of improvements to Narrator, as well as some improvements to magnifier, and new color filters that will help users with color blindness.