Upgrading to Windows 10 will free up some precious storage

Windows 10

Windows 10 has a lot of welcome improvements, but there's at least one that might not be immediately obvious: it can take up way less space than past versions of the OS.

That means that upgrading to Windows 10 could provide you with almost 15GB of additional storage, depending on a number of factors, Microsoft wrote on the Windows Blog.

For one thing Windows 10 features enhanced compression that uses a new algorithm and evaluates your device's memory, compressing as many system files as possible without impacting your performance.

That alone can free between 1.5GB (on 32-bit systems) and 2.6GB (on 64-bit) across mobile, laptop and desktop devices with Windows 10.

Shaping up

On top of that Windows 10 no longer requires a separate recovery image to reset your system to factory settings. These generally come preinstalled by manufacturers, and their absence can free up another 12GB.

That advantage only applies to tablets, laptops and desktops, though, and not phones, which already don't use hefty recovery images.

"Through the capacity savings of system compression and recovery enhancements, Windows devices can be lightweight and highly mobile, yet, when you need it, have the full capabilities of the Windows OS," the team's post reads.

As long as the new compression techniques and the lack of recovery images don't cause extra problems for Windows 10 users down the line, this is a nice improvement to an OS that already looks like it's shaping up to be great.

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.