Windows 10 was meant to be the last version of Windows, but it seems Microsoft has had a change of heart and intends to end support for the operating system in 2025.
As Thurrott reports, confirmation of that comes via a Microsoft support document, which lists Windows 10 Home and Pro versions with a retirement date of Oct. 14, 2025. The date makes perfect sense when you consider Microsoft typically supports an OS version for ten years and Windows 10 was first launched on July 29, 2015.
Microsoft already made it clear big changes are coming to Windows with the announcement of a “What’s Next for Windows” event earlier this month. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also hinted at a major new version of Windows, so when this event happens on June 24, we could well see Windows 11 unveiled. It certainly won’t be Windows 10X as that got folded into Windows 10.
It seems very unlikely Microsoft would drop the Windows name, which would allow the claim of Windows 10 being the last version of Windows to hold true. However, it could be that the numbering system is going to be dropped, with Microsoft moving to a naming convention much like Apple uses for macOS. For example, macOS 12 is also known as macOS Monterey. Whatever the case, we don’t have long to wait to find out exactly what comes next for Windows.
