On the Windows 10 Home, Pro, and Workstation pages, Microsoft has indicated that Windows 10 downloads will cease on January 31, after which it will no longer be possible to purchase Windows 10 licenses except from third-party resellers of existing licenses. In sum, Windows 11 will be the only operating system that Microsoft will allow purchases. The operating system will remain supported with security updates that help protect PCs from cyber threats until October 14, 2025.
With dramatically short lifecycles, most IT departments routinely replace their workstations, servers, and phones when they become slow, no longer receive operating system updates, and/or are out of warranty. . In other cases, end users may be forced to move on due to product end-of-life liabilities.
For memory:
- Windows 8 is no longer compatible since January 12, 2016 and no longer receives security updates. Therefore, if you are using Microsoft 365 on a computer running Windows 8 and you are configured for automatic updates, you will no longer receive updates for Office applications, including feature, security, and software updates. other quality updates.
- Windows 8.1 reached end of support this Tuesday, January 10, 2023. If you’re running Microsoft 365, you will no longer receive updates for Office apps; this includes features, security, and other quality updates.
To avoid performance and reliability issues, Microsoft has recommended upgrading to a more recent version of Windows. Microsoft has been pushing 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 sleeker – plus they come with Windows 11 already installed.
The company noted that most Windows 7 machines do not meet the hardware requirements for upgrading 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 will end on October 14, 2025, so they had to consider whether to take that intermediate step to Windows 10 or launch with Windows 11.
Were to ! The time may be well chosen since, from now on, users only have until January 31, 2023 to decide whether to opt for Windows 10, or to cross the threshold of Windows 11. At least, if they wish 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 until 2025, 10 years after launch: Windows 10 will still be supported with security updates that help protect your PC against viruses, spyware and other threats until October 14, 2025.
In terms of market share, Windows 10 remains the most widely used version of Windows, even though it’s been nearly two years since Microsoft released Windows 11. faster adoption of Windows 11, giving a much-needed boost to its market share.
However, remember that due to the high requirements of Windows 11 in terms of characteristics, it is possible that a good number of PCs running Windows 10 (or which can run on Windows 10) cannot support this operating system. Indeed, to install or upgrade 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: 64 GB or more of available storage is required to install Windows 11.
- Additional storage space may be required to download updates and enable specific features.
- Graphics Card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with WDDM 2.0 driver.
- System Firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot compatible.
- TPM: Version 2.0 of the Secure Platform Module (TPM).
- Display: High definition display (720p), 9 inch or larger monitor, 8 bits per channel color.
- Internet connection: Internet connectivity is required to perform updates and to download and use certain features.
- The 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 boost the adoption of Windows 11?
What operating system are you on?
If you’re on Windows, but not its Windows 11 version, what’s holding you back from experiencing it?