Microsoft has recently confirmed that new CPUs will only work with Windows 10, so in case you’re planning to purchase a new computer in the next 12 months, you’ll have to upgrade to the new operating system. Windows 8.1 will receive the same support through January 10, 2023.
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There is a solution for those looking for new hardware right now that aren’t ready for a full upgrade to Windows 10: Microsoft has “a list of specific new Skylake devices we will support to run Windows 7 and Windows 8.1”.
Microsoft emphasized that, for optimal performance, systems with the latest generation processors need to have the latest generation operating system.
Nearly thirty percent of PC users polled in the survey claimed to be running Windows 10, compared to the 27% that are using Windows 8 and the 28% using Windows 7. Windows 7 is still popular with consumers but is beginning to age rapidly.
“Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support”. This means that next generation processors, including Intel’s “Kaby Lake”, Qualcomm’s 8996 (branded as Snapdragon 820), and AMD’s “Bristol Ridge” APUs will only be supported on Windows 10. Skylake, for example, has a certain degree of autonomous power management, allowing the chip to respond more quickly to changing demands than the operating system can.
Downgrade rights enable users buying PCs with Windows 10 Professional installed by OEMs to downgrade to either Windows 7 Professional or Windows 8.1 Pro. As Windows moves forward drivers will become more a part of Windows update as each device is registered with Microsoft.
The USB Type-C presents a similar challenge, as it is too new for Windows 7 to tap into it.
It’s also not entirely clear why Microsoft is making the decision; this burden seems like something that the hardware companies can make decisions about themselves.
Users can continue to run Windows Vista, Windows 7 SP1, or Windows 8.1 on pre-Skylake machines and get updates and security fixes from Microsoft as promised before. The OS will be seven years old this year and PC hardware has moved on considerably since then.
I also wonder whether today’s new policies will result in fewer sales of new Skylake PCs, at least to business users who have been expecting to be able to downgrade to Windows 7 on these systems and use them for some period of time (longer than mid-2017) before moving to Windows 10. This will put enterprises wanting to stick with Windows 7 or 8.1 in a hard position. That might not sound like a massive lead, but considering that Windows 10 only saw its worldwide launch in July 2015, it’s a promising statistic.
The new policy is likely put in place to convince users to run Windows 10 on their new hardware.
The GWX Control Panel has a button labeled Disable “Get Windows 10” App (permanently remove icon).
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Our expectation is that while the timelines may not be identical, the same broader policy-new hardware needs new software-is likely to prevail.
