Microsoft will have no choice but to give consumers free Windows upgrades once it launches Windows 10 and kicks off its fast-fast-fast tempo, an analyst asserted.

“If Microsoft wants consumers to update and keep up to date, it really means that Microsoft is going to have to give those consumers those updates for free. There’s really no other way to do it,” said Michael Silver of Gartner at the research firm’s annual technology conference.

“A consumer isn’t going to give Microsoft a credit card and say, ‘Charge me for a new release whenever one comes out,'” Silver added. “It’s very likely that consumer releases will be free.”

That will affect Microsoft’s bottom line: With Windows 10 expected to be the nameplate for the OS for years longer than the usual three-year cycle between major upgrades — from Windows 7 to Windows 8, say — free means that consumers will never again have to pay to upgrade their PC’s OS.

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