Starting with the next update to Windows 10, you will be able to choose to buy a new Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro PC with S mode enabled.

Last year Microsoft introduced Windows 10 S - an effort to provide a Windows experience that delivers predictable performance and quality through Microsoft-verified apps via the Microsoft Store. This configuration was offered initially as part of the Surface Laptop. Currently, Microsoft's partners have brought to market more than 20 devices with Windows 10 S enabled.

Joe Belfiore, Corporate Vice President, Windows, confirmed that the next update to Windows 10, "coming soon," will have the option to have the S mode enabled. The feature will be part of new Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise versions of Windows. He also said that moving from Windows 10 S to the fully-featured complementary version of Windows 10 will be offered "at no charge, regardless of edition."

This is a departure from Microsoft's previous strategy of charging users $49 to switch from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro. Microsoft planned to start charging users as of April 1, 2018, to switch from S to Pro.

"We hope this new approach will simplify and make it possible for more customers to start using Windows in S mode: a familiar, productive Windows experience that is streamlined for security and performance across all our editions," Belfiore said.

For those not familiar with Windows S, it is meant to run Windows Store applications only. It includes all the same features that Windows 10 Creators Update does, including support for mixed reality. The difference is that it is more of a locked-down variant, with Microsoft verifying and managing the overall experience via the Windows Store requirement.