Why Windows 10 isn’t version 6 any more and why it will probably work
A long-standing oddity of Windows is that its branded number has for some years now not matched the version number stamped into the kernel and other parts of the operating system. Windows 7, for example, reported itself to software as being version 6.1. Windows 8 is 6.2, and Windows 8.1 is 6.3.
Current public builds of Windows 10 repeat this trend—they purport to be version 6.4—but not for much longer. Chinese site ITHome published a picture showing the version number to be 10.0. Version number 10.0 is also cropping up on BuildFeed which tracks build numbers, and has been further corroborated elsewhere.
Our sources tell us that the version number has indeed changed, and that Windows 10 will be version 10.0, ending a discrepancy that has existed for five years. Prior to the decision to brand the operating system Windows 10, we're told that there were some versions built calling themselves 9.0, too.