Microsoft nixes plan to cut Windows 7 and 8 support early for Skylake users

By Justin Pot Published August 12, 2016

Do you use Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 on a Skylake computer? Microsoft will offer support through 2020 for Windows 7 and through 2023 for Windows 8, just as it will for other computers. This backpedals an earlier plan to drop support for Skylake computers as early as 2017.

Skylake, the sixth generation of Intel Core processors, became widely available after Windows 10’s release. As such, the vast majority of Skylake processors are shipped with machines running Windows 10. With this in mind, Microsoft stated earlier this year that Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 will only support Skylake computers through 2017. So far as we know, this was the first time Microsoft has dropped security updates for an otherwise supported operating system depending on processor model.

Recommended Videos

Some users were … not thrilled. The move was widely seen as a way to force users to upgrade to Windows 10, according to Forbes. Apparently that feedback got through to Microsoft, which extended support through 2018 back in March.

Extended support for Windows 7 ends on January 14, 2020; extended support for Windows 8/8.1 ends on January 10, 2023. The change brings Skylake computers running Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 in line with other computers.

Microsoft’s stated reason for the policy is that Windows 10 is optimized for Skylake, while Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 are not.

And things get more complicated if you want to buy a computer this fall and install an older version of Windows. Microsoft says seventh-generation processors, code-named Kaby Lake, will not be officially support by Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, meaning if you buy a computer with such a processor, downgrading is going to be tricky.

Nearly half of all computer users are still on Windows 7, according to NetMarketShare, but old operating systems can’t run on new hardware forever. We all gave up XP eventually. Don’t worry, though — in eight years die-hard Windows 10 users will be complaining about not wanting Windows 12. The cycle will continue.

Former Contributor

Justin's always had a passion for trying out new software, asking questions, and explaining things – tech journalism is the…

Topics

Computing

I let Radial menu take over my Mac, and I’m never going back

One mouse jiggle, endless shortcuts. My Mac has never felt this fast.

Radial app running on Mac

I have been testing Radial for the past week, and it's quickly become one of those apps I didn’t know how I could live without. It's a radial menu for macOS that puts your shortcuts, scripts, and automations right where your cursor is, so you never have to go hunting through menus to find what you need.

The app just received its 5.0 update, adding AI actions powered by Claude, window layouts, variables, a redesigned settings interface, a new Atmosphere background effect, and a squircle menu shape. I got to try most of these, and here's what I found.

Computing

Android desktop mode made me miss my laptop in record time

I tried writing and publishing from Google’s phone-to-monitor setup, and the future of mobile computing immediately started sweating.

Computer, Electronics, Laptop

Android 17 desktop mode has a very simple pitch. Plug your phone into a monitor, add a keyboard and mouse, and watch the slab in your pocket pretend to be a computer. I wanted to give that pitch a fair shot, so I tried using it for an actual workday instead of a cute demo.

The goal was boring on purpose: write an article, edit it, build the page in WordPress, upload whatever needed uploading, and publish the thing without running back to my laptop like a coward.

Computing

As AI turbocharges digital abuse, UK agencies urge parents to limit who sees kids’ photos online

The National Crime Agency and Internet Watch Foundation are asking parents to tighten privacy settings as AI-generated abuse material rises.

Parents who post pictures of their kids online are being told to rethink the habit. The UK's National Crime Agency and the Internet Watch Foundation have issued new guidance urging families to lock down their social media accounts, warning that publicly shared photos are increasingly being pulled and altered by AI tools to create child sexual abuse material.

The two organizations say most parents have no idea this is happening. Criminals no longer need to contact a child directly to generate such material. They can scrape an ordinary photo and run it through widely available nudify apps.