Summary
Windows 10 will reach end of life on October 14, 2025.
Microsoft is trying to sway users to jump over to its successor operating system, Windows 11.
The company has its work cut out for it, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.
We've known for quite some time now that Microsoft intends on sunsetting its Windows 10 operating system later this calendar year. The company plans to end support for the popular OS on October 14, 2025, with the hope of getting as many hold-out users to switch to its successor, Windows 11, as possible.
Most recently, Microsoft has been sending out a new crop of disclaimer emails to Windows 10 users, as per Windows Latest. These emails provide an outline of frequently asked questions, end of support details, and Windows 11 upgrade eligibility information.
This last point is particularly notable -- controversially, Windows 11 has specific hardware eligibility requirements that make it so not all Windows 10 users can perform a direct upgrade. Microsoft's solution, it seems, is to recommend users to purchase a new PC , while recycling their old and out-of-date model through a local organization.
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Windows 10 was first released in the summer of 2015, serving as a 'return to form' update after the rather disastrous launch of Windows 8 just three years prior. Similar to Windows XP and Windows 7 before it, 10 has proven to have legs -- Microsoft has been actively supporting the OS for the better part of a decade.
Under the leadership of then-chief product officer of Microsoft, Panos Panay, the company launched its next-generation Windows 11 OS in 2021. This major release brought a refreshed visual design, a focus on interface modernization, and, more recently, has been the beneficiary of a newfound focus on AI tools and experiences.
Microsoft's problem is that Windows 10 maintains a majority of Windows version market share to this day, sitting at around 58.7% of active users, according to StatCounter. Windows 11, by contrast, currently sits at only about 38.13% market share, almost 4 years into its lifecycle.
It's worth noting that Microsoft is offering an Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10, which is a paid program to extend OS security updates for up to 3 additional years.
With the October 14 support deadline looming ever-closer, Microsoft has backed itself into a rather tricky position. Windows 10 users will no longer receive security patches or other general software maintenance updates from the company, which could result in an outbreak of new vulnerabilities and exploits -- a PR disaster in the making.
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Desktop Windows Version Market Share Worldwide StatCounter
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While Windows 11's more stringent hardware requirements have been subject to much pushback, I don't entirely fault Microsoft for implementing them. The requirements of Secure Boot and an enabled Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 are a net positive from a security standpoint, and the company has thrown a bone at enthusiasts by making it easy enough to sidestep these requirements altogether.
The company's strict processor requirements are less excusable, however. Microsoft's official Windows 11 system requirements page outlines a list of supported 64-bit x86 and ARM-based chipsets, and from my perspective, there's needless hardware gatekeeping taking place.
While steep hardware requirements are likely to be playing a role in Windows 11's relatively slow uptake, I don't feel that it's the primary factor here. Rather, I'd wager that the bigger issue comes down to Microsoft's lack of feature parity across its two OS platforms.
...the company needs to put some work into bringing Windows 11 up to speed with its predecessor.
In Windows 11's bid to modernize many user-facing shell elements throughout the system, Microsoft went ahead and rebuilt certain elements like the Taskbar and the Start Menu from scratch. Refreshed code itself isn't a bad thing, but the company has neglected to port over all the smaller options and features that Windows users have grown accustomed to over the years.
If Microsoft wants to ensure a genuinely smooth transition from Windows 10 to 11, the company needs to put some work into bringing Windows 11 up to speed with its predecessor in some of the following ways:
The ability to resize the taskbar
The ability to place the taskbar to the left, right, or top of the display
The ability to resize the Start Menu
The ability to show 'All Apps' from the Start Menu's top-level interface
The ability to integrate digital calendars (and display seconds) within the shell's date and time flyout
The ability to change power profiles directly from the system tray
Each of these elements are small and seemingly innocuous on their own, but they add up -- Windows users across the globe rely on these features to maintain their workflows. After all, Windows is a productivity-first and enterprise-friendly operating system at its core.
...I think Microsoft is broaching the subject in entirely the wrong way.
As for the bombastic Windows 10 end-of-life prompts and emails, I think Microsoft is broaching the subject in entirely the wrong way. Rather than recommending its user base recycle their PCs and pony up for a new model, the company ought to be highlighting the benefits of Windows 11, and making a case for how it's genuinely working to improve the OS as a whole.
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What does this mean for Windows 12?
I wouldn't expect any boat-rocking OS releases from Microsoft in the near-term future
Windows 12 leaked image mockup from Windows-Central
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Previously, there were reports of Microsoft working on a next-generation Windows 12, with leaked images suggesting an ambitious user interface redesign. With Panos Panay's departure from the company, and with concerns over further fragmentation of its user base across operating systems, it now appears unlikely that we'll see a Windows 12 -style release anytime soon.
Rather, Microsoft now seems laser-focused on its Copilot+ AI PC initiative , which involves a strong push for local neural processor unit (NP) support across PCs, a proliferation of AI features, and more. The company also has its hands full with bolstering support for ARM-based processors like the Qualcomm Snapdragon X series, which will be an important chip architecture to support going into the future.
In short, Microsoft appears to be in no rush to push out another major Windows OS release, despite how lucrative a Windows 12 launch period might be for the company's hardware partner OEMs. For the time being, Microsoft appears to be focused on selling Copilot+ PCs, and getting as many people onto a single, unified Windows platform as it possibly can.
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