A few days ago, Microsoft quietly announced that it will extend support for Windows 10 through 2027, even though the operating system officially reached the end of support on 14 October 2025. Initially, the company had planned to offer just one additional year of updates under its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, but the new decision gives Windows 10 a longer lifeline.
However, critics and groups like The Restart Project, which helped co-develop the "End of 10" toolkit to support Windows 10 users who can't upgrade to Windows 11, claimed that Microsoft's move to continue pushing security updates to Windows 10 beyond its end-of-support feels like a last-minute snooze button, which only acts as a band-aid on a bleeding system.
They argued that the move would force up to 400 million working PCs into early retirement, prompting many users to brand it as programmed obsolescence rather than anything else. It also seems like an outright, blatant attempt designed to make users transition to Windows 11.
However, if previous complaints lodged are anything to go by — Microsoft's stringent hardware requirements for the operating system, coupled with arguments of flawed design elements, including unnecessary AI and Copilot integrations, will only widen the digital divide, making the jump even harder.
Currently, users enrolled in Microsoft's Extended Security Updates (ESU) program will continue receiving critical security patches for one additional year, extending coverage beyond the original end-of-support date of 14 October 2025, through 14 October 2026.
As highlighted in the recent poll results, a clear majority of participants (68 percent) indicated they plan to continue running Windows 10 on their devices following Microsoft's support extension. Interestingly, 19 percent of respondents said they have already upgraded to Windows 11, highlighting a smaller but notable shift toward the newer operating system.
Granted, only 321 people voted, so we need to take the results with a pinch of salt.
If you are still running Windows 10 on your PC, you can take advantage of the extended lifeline by enrolling in the ESU program for free by signing in with a Microsoft account, or pay for access via 1,000 Microsoft reward points or US$ 30.
No comments:
Post a Comment