“Year of PC renewal”
Microsoft is pushing millions of users to change systems
Updated on January 9, 2025 – 7:29 amReading time: 2 min.
Support for Windows 10 ends in October 2025. Microsoft wants to encourage millions of users to switch to Windows 11 – but many need new hardware.
Microsoft has declared 2025 the “Year of Windows 11 PC Renewal”. In an official blog post, Yusuf Mehdi, Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, announced the initiative with which the company wants to encourage millions of Windows 10 users to switch to the new operating system.
The reason for the move is obvious: Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. From this point on, free software updates, technical support and security updates will no longer be available. However, according to current statistics, over 60 percent of users use Windows 10, while only around 34 percent have already switched to Windows 11.
Microsoft relies primarily on artificial intelligence as a driving force in its advertising strategy. Mehdi emphasizes in his blog post that a new PC with Windows 11 is the “best, safest and most powerful way” to take advantage of the benefits of AI. The company is introducing a new category of computers for this purpose: the so-called Copilot+ PCs will be equipped with special neural processing units. These are specialized computer chips that are specifically designed to process AI applications.
For many users, however, switching to Windows 11 inevitably means purchasing new hardware. The system requirements for Windows 11 are significantly higher than those for its predecessor, which is why many Windows 10 computers that are currently functioning without problems will no longer run.
Microsoft cites a study by the market research company IDC, according to which almost 80 percent of companies plan to renew their PC fleet by the end of 2025. Among private users, 70 percent are said to intend to switch within the next two years.
However, there are also alternatives to the immediate switch: For the first time, Microsoft is also offering private users the opportunity to continue to receive security updates for Windows 10 through so-called Extended Security Updates (ESU) for a fee of $30 per year. However, this option was not mentioned in Mehdi’s blog post.
Studies from last year also show that products that are advertised with the addition of “AI” tend to be met with skepticism by customers. Microsoft still promises that the new Copilot+ PCs will be up to five times faster than the most commonly used five-year-old Windows PCs.