Microsoft has announced that it will officially stop selling Windows 10 licenses via its website at January 31somehow marking the end of the reign of the most popular operating system in the world.
The operating system (which comes in Home and Professional variants) has been around since late 2014, with a full public release in July 2015. After the shaky misadventures of Windows Vista, 7 and 8, Windows 10 was a breath of fresh air – a return, felt by many, to the glory days of Windows XP and its simple and effective interface.
Although the new kid on the block Windows 11 arrived towards the end of 2021, which now makes it over a year, the adoption was not really fast; last December, the market share held by Windows 10 was still more than four times that of its successor.
If you want to buy a copy of Windows 10 Home or Pro directly from Microsoft (opens in a new tab), you will then have to do it before the end of January. The operating system costs $139 / £120 / AU$225 for the standard Home variant and $200 / £220 / AU$339 – no, we don’t know why the UK version of Windows 10 Pro is more expensive.
Not yet on Windows 11? Do not be afraid
Fortunately, Windows 10 will continue to receive key security and stability updates for some time to come. Microsoft had previously confirmed that official support for the operating system would end on October 14, 2025 – so there’s no need to rush if you haven’t upgraded to the latest version of Windows yet.
This Windows 10 end-of-sale news closely follows the real end of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1because Microsoft stopped providing updates for these operating systems on January 10. happy to see Windows 8 dead and buriedbut there are still a lot of users using versions older than 10, which are now open to bugs and cyberattacks.
It’s worth noting that while Microsoft will no longer be selling Windows 10 as a download through its website, third-party sellers will likely continue to carry a stock of installer codes for the operating system for some time to come – these won’t. suddenly become invalid. We also have no way of knowing what deals Microsoft might have with its OEM partners, so there’s every chance laptop and desktop makers will continue to buy copies of Windows 10 to use. in their products in the meantime. We can probably still expect to see the OS appear in everything from budget laptops to powerful gaming laptops This year.
If you are using an older operating system and prefer to use Windows 10 rather than 11 at the moment, it is also important to remember that you could already buy the operating system cheaper from other sources even before. that Microsoft announces that it will no longer sell it directly. . Amazon has cheaper keys, but you can also be a little tricky and get an OEM key from sources like Kinguin (opens in a new tab) for even less. Keep in mind, though, that these aren’t necessarily the most reputable retailers, so you’ll be assuming some risk.
It’s not really surprising that Microsoft is beginning the process of sending Windows 10 to the big motherboard in the sky. Adoption of Windows 11 hasn’t been as rapid as the tech giant probably would have liked, so this push will hopefully see more and more people upgrade to the latest version of the operating system. . So if you’re looking to upgrade, we have a practical Guide for you.
