Though Microsoft released the new Windows 11 2022 Update to consumers today, there’s no obligation to upgrade. Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 through October 2025, company executives said.
“We remain committed to Windows 10 and will continue to service Windows 10 through October of 2025,” said John Cable, vice president of program management for Microsoft’s Windows Servicing and Delivery, in a briefing with reporters.
Microsoft’s Windows 11 2022 Update (previously code-named ‘Windows 11 2H22″) is a collection of new features that address many things that many people don’t use regularly, including accessibility features, as our Windows 11 2022 Update (22H2) review concludes. PCs running Windows 10 and Windows 11 are eligible to upgrade to Microsoft’s new feature update for free.
If you don’t want to upgrade, don’t worry. Windows 11 is improving, but Windows 10 is an excellent operating system, which makes it difficult to recommend a move. (We offer three reasons to upgrade to Windows 11, and three more to stand pat.) Microsoft also hasn’t set an end date for when the free Windows 11 upgrade will expire, Aaron Woodman, Microsoft’s vice president in charge of Windows, said during the briefing.
Technically, the fact that Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 until 2025 isn’t anything new, as Microsoft has been saying this since June 2021. Still, Microsoft said then that Windows 10 would be retired on Oct. 14, 2025 — even though the original lifespan called for it to end support in 2017. What we’ve learned is that Microsoft is holding fast to that 2025 deadline.
All this means is that is while Microsoft is encouraging you to move to Windows 11, there’s no obligation to right now. Microsoft isn’t pulling the rug out from anyone — though it’s going to be releasing new Windows 11 features on an accelerated timeframe.
Why? Because in April, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella told analysts that Windows was the “socket” for subscriptions: to Microsoft 365, Windows 365, Azure, Game Pass Ultimate and the like. As long as you’re allocating a portion of your paycheck to a recurring subscription, Microsoft’s happy.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor, PCWorld
Mark has written for PCWorld for the last decade, with 30 years of experience covering technology. He has authored over 3,500 articles for PCWorld alone, covering PC microprocessors, peripherals, and Microsoft Windows, among other topics. Mark has written for publications including PC Magazine, Byte, eWEEK, Popular Science and Electronic Buyers' News, where he shared a Jesse H. Neal Award for breaking news. He recently handed over a collection of several dozen Thunderbolt docks and USB-C hubs because his office simply has no more room.