Firmware vs. Operating system - What is the difference?

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Windows Central Question

When I use the Windows Device Recovery Tool, I see a firmware-number and a operatingsystem-number for my device. What ist the difference?
 
The OS is high-level stuff like what runs the web browser and whatnot. It's most of the software on the device.

Firmware is under-the-hood software that talks to the device's hardware and bridges the gap between the OS and hardware in a nutshell.
 
To add:
Firmware is usually on-chip and normally needs a specific utility to update or "flash"
Operating systems are usually installed on-drive and can be uninstalled by the user
 

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