Mark it in your diaries: 14 October 2025 is the end of Windows 10
- Reference: 1623672909
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/14/microsoft_windows_10_end_support_date/
- Source link:
The statement is likely linked to the [1]forthcoming event on 24 June where Microsoft promises to unveil what's next for Windows. Note that it is the future of Windows, not of Windows 10, that is the subject.
What happened, then, to the idea that Windows 10 would be the last version, but constantly kept up to date with incremental updates?
[2]
Windows 10 was released on [3]29 July 2015 . Terry Myerson, Windows boss at the time, [4]said in January 2015 : "We think of Windows as a Service... and just like any internet service, the idea of asking 'What version are you on?' will cease to make sense."
[5]
[6]
There were several ideas behind the "Windows as a service" concept. One was that Microsoft would otherwise have more of a struggle competing with other operating systems. On the old major release cycle there were three years or more between versions, such as Windows Vista (2006), Windows 7 (2009) and Windows 8 (2012).
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Another idea was to improve the platform for developers. The more different versions there are in active use, the harder it is for developers, who have to either write for the oldest version while ensuring compatibility with the newest, or give up a potential slice of their market.
With Windows 10, many users upgrade automatically, increasing the number on the latest version. That said, there was a downside, with automatic upgrades leading to the possibility of unexpected breaking changes.
In practice, Myerson's idea that the version of Windows would "cease to make sense" was not achievable or even, perhaps, sensible. There have been regular feature (and version) upgrades for Windows 10, delivered every six months. Businesses in search of more control also have an option for the Long-Term Servicing Channel, which receives feature upgrades "every two to three years," [12]according to the docs – just like the old Windows release cycle. In reality Windows has always had a version number, and anyone can type winver at the command prompt to see it.
Winver shows the version of Windows, in this case 21H1, first half 2021 or 19043.1052
There was another aspect to this, though. For many users Windows 7 or Windows 8 was the last version they paid for, if they paid for a Windows upgrade at all. Myerson's original statement was that Windows 10 would be a free upgrade for customers running Windows 7 or higher, for one year after launch, and that "we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device – at no cost."
Despite this, Windows 10 has never been free, and Windows licensing remains an important source of revenue for Microsoft, particularly for the enterprise versions.
[13]
Did Microsoft ever say that Windows 10 would be the last version? There was a comment made by developer evangelist Jerry Nixon in [14]this session at the Ignite 2015 event. "Right now we're releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we're all still working on Windows 10," he said.
Microsoft never committed to keeping the Windows 10 branding indefinitely but did promise to keep Windows current once licensed to a device, for its "supported lifetime", at no cost. The latest statement appears to confirm that the Windows 10 brand is going away, but whatever Windows vNext turns out to be called, users will be trusting that the no-cost commitment remains. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/03/microsoft_windows_next_generation/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YMd9HoRHYOoid3NQS58QIgAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2015/07/29/windows_10_review/
[4] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2015/01/21/the-next-generation-of-windows-windows-10/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YMd9HoRHYOoid3NQS58QIgAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YMd9HoRHYOoid3NQS58QIgAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/09/microsoft_experience_centers/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/09/june_patch_tuesday/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/siloscape_malware_windows_containers/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2015/07/29/windows_10_review/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/07/microsoft_vsto/
[12] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/update/waas-overview
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YMd9HoRHYOoid3NQS58QIgAAAMs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Ignite/2015/BRK2352
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The fact that you can't upgrade to 20H2 if your machine's BIOS does not support secure boot would seem to fix running it on legacy hardware...
The fact that you can't upgrade to 20H2 if your machine's BIOS does not support secure boot would seem to fix running it on legacy hardware...
[citation needed]
I'm running Win10 21H1 (updated from 20H2) on native UEFI sans Secure Boot. No problems detected.
Too much to hope...
...that they'll stop this nonsense and go back to the previous model where you actually had half a chance of knowing which version of Windows the confused and angry person on the other end of the support call was using? Or that their version might bear some relation to the one you had because they hadn't mysteriously moved half the options and settings around between the Q1 and Q3 releases this year without telling anyone?
Re: Too much to hope...
IMHO the current model is signficantly better for developers and support. The updates are smaller, less invasive and while things still go wrong, you rarely need to completely reinstall the entire OS from scratch. Its one of the few things MS have learned from the opensource / Linux world where the same strategy has been used for years. I almost never need to know what kernel or even version of Raspian or Ubuntu or Redhat I'm on.
Re: Too much to hope...
Less invasive?
I'm not sure it's physically possible to be any more invasive. In the past 4 months we've had an absolute crapstorm of cumulative updates which interfere with just about every process in existence.
Re: Too much to hope...
signficantly better for developers
I think it depends very much on who you're developing for. If it's for a general desktop audience, you've still pretty much got to target Windows 7 for the legacy minority. If not, it's likely to be web-based. There will be cases for Windows 10-specific applications, but, beyond games, I'm struggling to think of many.
Re: Too much to hope...
How about anything that wants to properly support high DPI displays, or multi-touch devices, or DirectX 12 level GPU functionality (there are more than just games out there)?
Re: Too much to hope...
Sure, I never need to do that with my linux boxes either, but that's because they don't throw in random UI changes along with each kernel version update :/
Re: Too much to hope...
I don't Gnome what you mean...
Re: Too much to hope...
It is certainly good for devs and support that there is little excuse to be running an old version. It is less good that the newer versions may be less good.
Re: Too much to hope...
"the updates are smaller"??? LTSB updates are now around the 1.5Gb mark and on one piece of equipment i have to support (vendor installed OS) they take nearly an hour to apply. if they work 1st time.
I've never seen the point of changing product version numbers "just because everyone else is doing it" or "they have bigger numbered versions than us, we must compete!". See Solaris 2.x -> 7.x and Firefox 5.x onwards.
Maybe they should just use a random number/character generator so that version 657.2 follows Aardvark 0.235 (which, itself, came after version -27a-crustacean). That wouldn't be confusing at all!
" for its "supported lifetime", at no cost."
And by announcing an end-date for the product, MS have just informed you that they will be charging for the next version....
I seem to remember that someone decided, after running the numbers, it seems that Microsoft makes a loss from Windows over time. But it's considered to be a useful loss leader for that MS Office which is very profitable. The move to the subscription model, makes this somewhat moot. It was Office 365, now its Microsoft 365, and you will have Teams forcibly installed and you will use it!
Hence, I think the real reason for the change will be to limit any liability claims for holdouts when Microsoft stop providing updates to all users.
Loss?
Their annual turnover and profits look seriously dented by the losses from Windows.....
Two possibilities
1. Beancounter - changing the licensing model.
2. Technical - changing over to the Linux kernel.
Re: Two possibilities
Both, along with the monthly subscription?
There was me, almost ready to move to Win10.....
Re: Two possibilities
Hope Dave Cutler will stop anybody attempting to use an OS design which was already old in the 1980s...
Windows 10 is the last version of Windows,
So, whatever comes next, it will not be called Windows?
Perhaps the replacement will be called Doors or Drawers or maybe Ventanas (Spanish word for windows) to go with Cortanas ( Almost Spanish for curtains: cortinas).
What I suspect is, it will be even more AAS with a confusing plethora of packages to pay for and daily AI auditing in order to squeeze every last penny out of you.
Re: Windows 10 is the last version of Windows,
Perhaps in Prague they will be looking forward with interest to the defenestration?
Re: Windows 10 is the last version of Windows,
Or Microsoft Azure Desktop, client edition
Re: Windows 10 is the last version of Windows,
So, whatever comes next, it will not be called Windows
On the contrary, I expect it will be called just "Windows" as the "10" version is now irrelevant what with it being delivered as a constantly evolving service. Folding both "Windows 10 Home" and "Windows 10 Pro" into "Windows" makes sense as there is no point in maintaining them as two different flavors.
(Only) A Bit like Porsche
Porsche 911 is what's sold, Underneath it's a 996/7 etc. Windows 10 is like that - 20H1, 21H1 etc. Just expect them to drop the "10" are brand as "Windows Desktop" or "Windows Ten" - or even Windows Millennial/Gen-Z/Alpha or worse..
2025? That long?
Oh well... we can but hope that MS decides to make the death of 'the last version of windows' something to celebrate.
Sadly, I think it will herald the start of an era of subscriptions for all that may well start an exodus from the windows platform.
In the meantime, I'll continue to reject all calls for help with a W10 system that no longer works the way it did before the last update.
Re: 2025? That long?
Exodus from the Windows platform? They didn't jump ship after
* Iloveyou virus
* ME
* Requirement to beg MS for permission to run the code you just bought
* Vista
* Windows 8
* Incredibly heavy handed data slurping
Not going to happen.
Re: 2025? That long?
It is always hard to predict what happens. If google starts requiring that every handset should be suitable for a standard dock so it can be used as desktop, or manages to get an edge with chrome, any predatory behave of MS in regard to their desktop OS might backfire.
The world is changing fast, millenials raised by their smart phone, might have different ideas about the average office desktop they want to use.
Re: 2025? That long?
None of which required customers giving MS money every month.
Obvs
Windows365 would keep the branding consistent with their office/online crap, and not require any further version numbers.
No cost?
What do they mean "no cost?" There's always a cost to everything, it's a basic law of the universe. Even FOSS comes with a cost in terms of incompatiilities, lack of features, need for some degree of technical knowledge &c.
The "cost" of Windows might not be in dollars/pounds/euros/yen/yuan/whatever but there is a *very* high cost in terms of data slurping, constant bug squashing, lack of meaningful competition, ecosystem lock-in....
So for those who switched to Windows 10 when Windows 7 lost support... they just get five years? Glad I never used Windows 10.
5 years of support is for those who held out until the very last minute before upgrading from 7, as if you upgraded to Window 10 when it was first released in 2015 you would have had 10 years of support by the time 2025 comes around. And going off previous Windows versions such as XP, Vista and 7 all became EOL after around 10 years so that amount of time seems pretty standard for MS to end support of their OS.
Who knows whether Windows 11 or 365 or whatever the marketing dept decide to call it won't just really be Windows 10 under the hood with another name and whatever shiny shiny interface they try an tac onto it to make it seem new.
My theory is that they’ll be moving Windows to a subscription model, like Office 365. Whereas, you either pay for major upgrades or pay a monthly subscription fee.
And they won’t be seeing any money from me. Existing systems will either stay as is or get moved to Linux or just be retired and replaced with Linux or Mac systems. New systems will be built with Linux or will be Macs. Apple will just love this.
Alternative theory
Just makes things easier if EVERYTHING IS TEAMS!
No need for any other names.
I bet their team discussed this at length with team Teams meetings, cross-team Teams chat with other teams on Teams and Teams posts on their team's Teams teams teams Teams TEAMS TEAMS TEAMS TEAMS!
They're going to fix that bug whereby legacy machines are still able to run Windows 10.