Windows 11 will show watermark if system requirements are not met – Computer – News

Windows has had two years of update guarantees on every major release until about two years ago, when it was announced that Windows 10’s life cycle will end in 2025.

I couldn’t find any indication that Microsoft itself actually planned to just build on Windows 10. One loose statement that Windows 10 would be “the last Windows version” that has become very popular, but nothing official. Yes, you had industrial Windows versions with terms of about five years, but they were not intended for the consumer.

We have all fallen for Microsoft’s SaaS approach. The benefits of new features without the burden of long-term support. Microsoft has switched to the app approach that is so popular these days; a design overhaul every three years, features first, then fixes, and constantly turning things upside down to teach the system new tricks. I don’t see that as a long-term support.

Also, don’t forget that some devices have also stuck with certain Windows 10 versions due to new CPU requirements! Clover Trail was not allowed to receive the Creators Update, for example. Here they have done the exact same thing, but for a larger group of people.

One problem that Microsoft has, but not so much competitor Apple, is that Microsoft does not earn much per Windows license. Apple also makes the hardware and Microsoft also makes the Surface line, but most of the hardware that runs Windows is third-party produced. Free upgrades from 7 to 8 but 8.1 to 10 to 11 mean much more support costs in the long run than that hardware ever delivered them, so at some point a new payment moment has to come. In this case, they mainly do that by bundling the purchase of new hardware to the new OS.

Somehow it makes sense that Microsoft wants to get rid of legacy hardware. Not having to worry about rowhammer anymore by using DDR4+ makes their life easier of course. Assuming that certain SPECTER mitigations are in the chips prevents the performance impact of many kernel security features. In addition, there are plenty of devices that have gone from 7 to 10 that used Vista-era drivers even on 7; that legacy will also have to be settled at some point, because it does not benefit stability. I think they have gone very far with this (I would have set the line around 4-6th gen) but in terms of business management I get it. Having to support legacy is just annoying.

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