Microsoft will end support for ‘the last version of Windows’ in October 2025

Windows 10 was originally thought of as the ‘last version of Windows’, but Microsoft will be issuing an update soon

Earns Microsoft (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Microsoft is ending its support for Windows 10 in 2025, indicating that the company is moving towards a new operating system.

A new support document says that Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro was launched on 29 July 2015, and will retire on 14 October 2025. It appears to be the first time the company has described ending support for the operating system.

Microsoft has been preparing to launch the next version of its Windows operating soon, likely to be called Windows 11. CEO Satya Nadella said that the “most significant updates of Windows of the past decade” will be coming at the company’s Build 2021 conference.

It also showcased updates for Edge that would make it faster on startup, the company claimed, better integration for Teams in other products, and new AI capabilities to make simple apps.

The new “Sun Valley” interface, as Microsoft has codenamed it, will bring with it new icon designs for system services as well as Microsoft’s range of Mail, Calendar, music and video apps, and more.

In its 2020 Build conference, it was also shown that Microsoft is planning a search-bar similar to Spotlight on Apple’s computers, and a “Fluid Office” update that makes Word, PowerPoint, and Excel more similar to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Such a change is a marked difference from how Microsoft saw Windows when it was first launched. It originally saw Windows 10 as the “last version of Windows” that would be continually updated after the lacklustre response to Windows 8.1. It appeared that Microsoft was going to continually update Windows 10 through iterative updates, with services provided through subscriptions like Office 365.

Microsoft will be unveiling the next version of Windows on 24 July, with The Independent covering the announcement as it happens.

Windows still makes up nearly 75 per cent of worldwide operating systems, but Apple and MacOS has taken an increasing chunk of that market share.

The iPhone giant recently released its own operating system update, MacOS Monterey, which features universal control between Macs and iPads, new Maps designs, and a Safari browser that better handles tabs.