Skip to main content

Microsoft will end support for Windows 7 one year from now

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re one of the many still holding on to the nearly nine-year-old Windows 7 OS, it might be time for an upgrade. Microsoft is set to end extended support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020, putting a halt on the free bug fixes and security patches for most who have the operating system installed.

Recommended Videos

Though official mainstream support for Windows 7 already ended in January 2015, extended support is now also scheduled to come to an end exactly a year from Monday, January 14. This means that anyone still running the operating system on their PCs will need to pay up to Microsoft to get continued updates. For most consumers, that is obviously not an option, so an upgrade to Windows 10 would be the better way to stay updated against the latest viruses and other security issues.

Due to its popularity and to help ease transitions to Windows 10, Microsoft will still provide two methods of Windows 7 support for businesses and enterprises (but not general consumers.) Under the first paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates plan, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise users can get security updates through January 2023. With the second option, businesses that buy the Microsoft Virtual Desktop to virtualize Windows 7 can also get the Windows 7 Extended Security Updates plan for free, as noted by ZDNet.

The end of support for Windows 7 could be good news for Windows 10 adoption rates in 2020, but it also raises concerns for those who could be running older hardware not supported by Windows 10. Windows 7 has still remained fairly popular in recent years and was only recently surpassed by Windows 10 in overall Net Marketshare data, with a 32.9 percent lead.

According to this support page, Microsoft’s Windows 7 has limited support on processors and chipsets from manufacturers like AMD and Intel. “The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it’s no longer supported. Knowing key dates in this lifecycle helps you make informed decisions about when to update, upgrade or make other changes to your software,” explains Microsoft. As for Windows 8, which never was popular with consumers due to its tablet-style interface, Microsoft is set to end free support for it on January 10, 2023.

Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
Microsoft has revealed one of its recent ads uses gen AI — can you tell?
Shot from a Microsoft advert.

In January, Microsoft released a minute-long advert for its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. It currently has 42,000 views on YouTube with 302 comments discussing the hardware -- what the comments don't mention, however, is the AI-generated shots used in the ad. Why? Because no one even realized AI was involved until Microsoft smugly revealed it this week.

You can tell the company is proud of this little stunt it's pulled off because the blog about it begins with a dramatic summary of the history of film and how it has evolved -- implying generative AI tools are the next step in this grand evolution.

Read more
Windows 11 is getting a lot of new features, here’s how to check if your PC qualifies
Copilot+ PC laptop.

In a Windows Insider blog post, Microsoft announces some exciting new features coming to Windows 11, including Reading Coach integration, improved Voice Access, and AI-enhanced Search. These upgrades are part of preview build 26120.3872 in the Beta channel. However, some upcoming features will only be available on Copilot+ PCs, a new category of AI-powered devices that run on Snapdragon (ARM-based) chips.

Beyond the features highlighted in this preview, more Copilot+ features are already on the horizon. For example, Microsoft recently confirmed that Recall, which raised privacy concerns, is coming to Windows 11 in build 26100.3902 (KB5055627), now available in the Release Preview Channel. That means it's just one step away from general release and likely to arrive soon on eligible Copilot+ devices.

Read more
Microsoft’s Copilot Vision AI is now free to use in Edge
Copilot Vision graphic.

After months of teasers, previews, and select rollouts, Microsoft's Copilot Vision is now available to try for all Edge users in the U.S. The flashy new AI tool is designed to watch your screen as you browse so you can ask it various questions about what you're doing and get useful context-appropriate responses.

The feature works for "most" sites, according to Microsoft but it gives you a list of recommendations to start with. We have Amazon, which makes sense, but also Geoguessr? I'm pretty sure the point of that site is to try and guess where you are on the map without any help. Anyway, the full list of starter sites is as follows:

Read more