Windows 11 has come a long way since its initial launch, but it still isn’t for everyone. Plenty of Windows 10 fans refuse to upgrade their machines to Microsoft’s latest OS: One estimate suggests Windows 10 still commands 73.46% of PCs in the world, while Windows 11 remains at 20.95%. There are more than a few reasons for this discrepancy, but the winds of change might be upon us, now that we know Windows 10 will never have another update again.
22H2 is the latest version of Windows 10
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Microsoft announced the news in a blog post Thursday, confirming fears from Windows 10 users across the globe: The current version, 22H2, will be the last version of Windows 10 ever. That means, going forward, Windows 10 will receive zero new features. The OS as it is today will be this way forever.
It isn’t surprising news, given the company stopped selling copies of Windows 10 back in January. For their part, Microsoft strongly encourages you to update from Windows 10 to Windows 11. While the company says it’s because they want you to be able to experience all future Windows updates as they roll in, each Windows 11 adoptee is another active user to tout at meetings and events.
But even those who want to update often can’t, since Microsoft has strict requirements for which PCs can actually update to Windows 11. The company requires your PC to have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 for security reasons, but that excludes many PCs older than six years. You can bypass these restrictions to install Windows 11 on an older, unsupported machine, but it’s tricky and not recommended by Microsoft. For many in this situation, it’s better to stick with Windows 10, especially if a new PC isn’t in the budget.
You’re good to keep using Windows 10 for a while
OK, so this is clearly sad news for anyone who loves Windows 10 and who doesn’t want to see Microsoft abandon the OS. But, there’s a silver lining here: Microsoft isn’t abandoning the OS completely—only features and other fun changes.
As Microsoft previously announced, the company will support Windows 10 until Oct. 14, 2025. “Support” is the keyword here, and it doesn’t mean adding whatever new software advancements Microsoft comes up with to Windows; rather, Microsoft has pledged to support Windows 10 with monthly security updates through that date.
While not as fun as new feature updates, security updates are undeniably the more important product here. Without them, Windows 10 would remain unprotected from each new security flaw bad actors discover, as is the case for Windows 7 and 8.1. Lucky for the roughly 70% of the PC world still running Windows 10, Microsoft will continue to patch any of these threats for the next two and a half years.
If you’re one of these PC users who can’t shake the Windows 10 habit, don’t sweat it. Sure, you miss out on new features, but that’s what third-party apps and utilities are for, anyway. Just remember: You only have until Oct. 14, 2025 to safely enjoy your time with Windows 10. Once that deadline passes, the only safe option will be to upgrade to whatever version of Windows Microsoft supports in ‘25. Who knows: Maybe you’ll actually like this one.