Microsoft announced on Friday that they are updating their support policy for Windows for certain types of processors. The company wants its operating system to boost the latest silicon chips out in the market.
The company wants Windows to lead in both adoption of new silicon innovation and also product quality. Until now, Microsoft’s studies and hard work have proven to them that Intel’s Skylake line and Windows 10 are a very good pair. The company says that compared to Windows 7 PC’s, Skylake when combined with Windows 10, enables up to 30x better graphics and 3x the battery life.
Microsoft has been pushing updates of Windows 10 for a while now. Most people have adopted the new OS out of interest while others were forced to move from a previously, more comfortable system. The Redmond giant now believes that there are many large companies that want to keep running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, and Microsoft wants to support those operating systems for some devices coming out with Skylake. The support will be through July 17, 2017 and Microsoft expects the owners to upgrade to its latest OS in the 18-month period.
Through July 17, 2017, Skylake devices on the supported list will also be supported with Windows 7 and 8.1,
Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President, Windows and Devices Group wrote.
During the 18-month support period, these systems should be upgraded to Windows 10 to continue receiving support after the period ends. After July 2017, the most critical Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates will be addressed for these configurations, and will be released if the update does not risk the reliability or compatibility of the Windows 7/8.1 platform on other devices.”
He also said that Windows 7 will continue to be supported for security, reliability and compatibility through January 14, 2020 on previous generation silicon. Windows 8.1 will receive the same support through January 10, 2023.
The company believes that this extended support will improve transparency with enterprises and will allow users to get the best Windows experience.
