Microsoft announced its new "Windows 10" operating system on Tuesday, which will replace the unpopular Windows 8, skipping a number to mark a "leap" toward unifying the way people work on tablets, traditional computers, and phones.

The next version of Microsoft's flagship product, which is used by 1.5 billion customers around the world, is aimed at recapturing the lucrative business market, which generally ignored the new-look Windows 8.

Windows 10 will be "our greatest enterprise platform ever," said Terry Myerson, Microsoft's head of operating systems, at an event in San Francisco, according to Reuters.

Only 20 percent of organizations switched to Windows 8, which was released in 2012, according to tech research firm Forrester. Most PC users disliked the touch-optimized interface and the loss of the traditional start-button pop-up menu.

Myerson said the Windows 10 system represents a new type of system for the company as it looks to unify computing as mobile devices proliferate.

"Windows 10 adapts to the devices customers are using, from Xbox to PCs and phones to tablets and tiny gadgets," said Myerson.

Thanks to the rise of Apple's iPhone and iPad, and Google's Android devices, Windows no longer plays a central role in people's on-screen lives. Microsoft is hoping to change that with the introduction of Windows 10.

Windows only runs 14 percent of all devices, which is down from a virtual monopoly on personal computing 10 years ago.

"It's a bold statement for Microsoft to make," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets to Reuters. "So far there's not as much meat on the bone as we would have wanted, although it's still very early days."

Myerson didn't say how or when the new Windows would be introduced, but other executives said the company is aiming for a full release in spring 2015.

A technical preview can be downloaded from Microsoft's website starting on Wednesday for users to test and give company feedback.

"They were trying to start the messaging for a product that won't actually ship until sometime around the middle of next year," said Gartner analyst Steve Kleynhans at the event. "This was to tell the PC installed base that there is a future and it doesn't have to be covered over in brightly colored tiles, or force them to abandon everything they've learned over the past 15 years."

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