We’ve known for a while Microsoft will drop support for Windows 10 October 14, 2025.But on Tuesday, Microsoft announced how much it will cost commercial organizations to continue getting security updates for its older operating systems, first reported edge.
Microsoft will charge $61 per device for security updates in the first year, according to a published blog post Tuesday. The price will double every year thereafter. The second year costs $122, the third year costs $244, the fourth year costs $488, and so on. To continue using Windows 10 safely, you could end up spending a pretty penny.
Microsoft updated its blog on Wednesday to note that this only applies to organizations. Consumers will have a different pricing plan, which will be released at a later date.
These extended security updates are typically only available to organizations using older versions of the Windows operating system, but will soon be available to consumers for the first time. Since there are still a large number of users running Windows 10, Microsoft is expanding this subscription program. Statistics counterNearly 70% of Windows users are still running Windows 10.
Part of the reason for this is the millions of older computers that can’t run Windows 11.microsoft listed All system requirements Requires support for its latest operating system. For example, your system must have at least 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage space to upgrade to Windows 11.This is an increase from Windows 10 requirements 1GB RAM and 16GB storage.
The likely result of this is that millions of people will be forced to buy new laptops and computers. In a few years, this will become a cheaper option than paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for ongoing security updates.
It also raises the question of what Microsoft will do after Windows 12 comes out.There were rumors that Windows’ next operating system could launch as early as June 2024, and will almost certainly be filled with artificial intelligence features. This means higher hardware requirements, and Windows 11 users may be left behind, just like Windows 10 users are now.