Microsoft is hanging a lot of Windows 10 on a single phrase: “supported lifetime of the device.”

That line, which Microsoft has been using since January, should, when the company eventually decides to tell customers what it means, unlock answers — answers to questions about Windows 10 that have arisen because this year’s new OS is so different from its forerunners.

Questions like: How long will users receive free feature and functionality updates, and the free upgrades that Microsoft keeps talking about? And how long will users receive free security updates, the patches that Microsoft issues to plug the inevitable holes in its software?

What they’ve said from Redmond

As a recap, here’s what Microsoft has said so far about the magic phrase.

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