Windows 10 is so popular that Windows 11 surpassed it in usage just a few months ago, so it's surprising that Microsoft is, in a way, moving forward with ending support for it today.
See also: Windows 10: Free security updates in Europe
At one point last year, it was uncertain whether Microsoft would actually end support for Windows 10 on time. The tech giant accidentally reopened the Windows 10 beta testing to add new features and improvements to the 10-year-old operating system, giving hope to millions of users that the company would change its mind or at least lower the system requirements for Windows 11. However, none of that is happening.
Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 today, following the operating system's initial release on July 29, 2015.The end means Microsoft will no longer provide software updates through Windows Update, technical support, or security patches for Windows 10. It's a significant moment for millions of users who can't upgrade, businesses that don't want to, and a company that is increasingly looking at refreshing Windows with AI features.
See also: Windows 11 finally overtakes Windows 10
Microsoft is effectively ending support for Windows 10 today because consumers will be able to enable extended security updates for free (with a catch for most) to get another year of security patches. Only businesses could do this in the past, and it's a clear admission from Microsoft that Windows 10 is simply too popular among consumers to go without security patches.
About 40 percent of Windows users are currently running Windows 10, according to StatCounter. While a large portion of that 40 percent will be businesses that can afford to pay for up to three years of additional support, Valve says that about 30 percent of all PC gamers are still using Windows 10. That's not much different from when 33 percent of all PC gamers on Steam were still using Windows 7 after Microsoft ended support for that operating system in January 2020.
The big difference this time around is that many Windows 10 users aren’t just stubborn about upgrading. They just can’t. Microsoft tightened up the hardware requirements for Windows 11, leaving behind millions of PCs that were sold when Windows 10 launched a decade ago. Windows 11 requires Intel 8th-generation Coffee Lake or Zen 2 CPUs and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), two controversial system requirements that Microsoft has refused to lower (with some rare exceptions).
See also: Windows 10: Security updates until October 2026
Millions of consumers will stick with Windows 10 as a result and wait until their machines are old enough to need an upgrade. That's probably why Microsoft opened up extended security updates for Windows 10 to consumers for the first time, although they're limited to just one year for now and could quickly require the purchase of additional OneDrive storage for Windows Backup for users outside of Europe.
