On the Windows 10 Home, Pro and Workstation pages, Microsoft has indicated that Windows 10 downloads will end on January 31st, after which it will no longer be possible to purchase Windows 10 licenses except from third-party providers of existing licenses. In summary, Windows 11 will be the only operating system that Microsoft will allow for purchase. The operating system will continue to be supported through October 14, 2025 with security updates that help protect PCs from cyber threats.
With dramatically short lifecycles, most IT departments routinely replace their workstations, servers, and phones when they become slow, no longer receiving OS updates, and/or out of warranty. In other cases, end-users may be forced to continue due to end-of-life liabilities.
For the memory:
- As of January 12, 2016, Windows 8 is no longer compatible and no longer receives security updates. So if you’re using Microsoft 365 on a computer running Windows 8 and you’re configured for automatic updates, you’ll no longer receive Office application updates, including feature, security, and software updates, other quality updates.
- Windows 8.1 has reached end of support this Tuesday, January 10, 2023. If you’re running Microsoft 365, you’ll no longer receive updates for Office apps; This includes features, security and other quality updates.
To avoid performance and reliability issues, Microsoft recommended upgrading to a newer version of Windows. Microsoft has been urging users to upgrade to Windows 11, writing in a support document that PCs have changed significantly since Windows 7 was released 10 years ago. Computers today are faster, more powerful and slimmer – and they come with Windows 11 already installed.
The company found that most Windows 7 computers don’t meet the hardware requirements to upgrade to Windows 11, but added that users have the option to upgrade their Windows 7 PCs to Windows 10 instead. However, support for Windows 10 ends on October 14, 2025, so they had to decide whether to take that intermediate step to Windows 10 or start with Windows 11.
We should! The timing may have been well chosen, because from now on users only have until January 31, 2023 to decide whether they want to go for Windows 10 or cross the threshold to Windows 11. At least if you want to obtain a license directly from Microsoft, which has therefore announced the end of its marketing.
Although no longer sold, the system will continue to receive support and updates through 2025, 10 years after launch: Windows 10 will continue to be supported through October 14, 2025 with security updates that help protect your PC from viruses, spyware, and other threats protection.
In terms of market share, Windows 10 remains the most widely used version of Windows, although it has been almost two years since Microsoft released Windows 11. faster adoption of Windows 11, giving its market share a much-needed boost.
However, keep in mind that due to the high feature requirements of Windows 11, it is possible that a large number of PCs running Windows 10 (or capable of running Windows 10) do not support this operating system be able. To install or update Windows 11, devices must meet the following minimum hardware requirements:
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or higher with at least two cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system-on-a-chip (SoC).
- RAM: 4 gigabytes (GB) or more.
- Storage: Windows 11 installation requires at least 64GB of available storage.
- Additional storage space may be required to download updates and enable certain features.
- Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or higher, with WDDM 2.0 driver.
- System firmware: UEFI compatible with Secure Boot.
- TPM: Secure Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0.
- Display: High-resolution display (720p), 9 inch or larger monitor, 8 bits per color channel.
- Internet Connection: An Internet connection is required to perform updates and to download and use certain features.
- Windows 11 Home Edition requires an internet connection and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use.
Sources: Microsoft (1, 2), StatCounters
And you?
What do you think could explain why Microsoft made this decision? Strategy to promote Windows 11 adoption?
What operating system do you have?
If you’re using Windows but not the Windows 11 version, what’s stopping you from experiencing it?