Microsoft declares 2025 “the year of the Windows 11 refresh” in latest bid to leave Windows 10 behind

Facepalm: Do you know what 2025 is? It’s the “Year of the Windows 11 PC refresh,” at least according to Microsoft. With Windows 10’s end-of-support date around nine months away, the Redmond firm is going all out to try and convince people to move to Windows 11, preferably by purchasing a Copilot+ PC.

Now that Microsoft’s “year of the AI PC,” – or 2024, as it’s better known – is over, the company has declared that 2025 really should be the year that you upgrade your Windows 10 PC to a Windows 11-supporting computer.

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and consumer chief marketing officer, writes that one of the most important pieces of technology consumers will look to refresh in 2025 isn’t the refrigerator, the television, or their mobile phone; it will be their Windows 10 PC. It’s hard to imagine many people with 20-year-old refrigerators agreeing with him on that one.

Mehdi makes some other bold statements, including “Windows 11 is available at a time when the world needs it most” and that “the forefront of AI innovation will be realized on Windows.”

Mehdi heavily pushes Microsoft’s AI offerings in the lengthy post, mentioning Copilot no less than 14 times. Copilot has made several headlines at CES after it was revealed the AI assistant has been integrated into upcoming TVs from LG and Samsung. We’ll have to wait and see just how useful this feature proves to be.

Microsoft would obviously prefer those upgrading their PCs to opt for a Copilot+ one. Mehdi writes that these are up to five times faster than the most popular 5-year-old Windows PCs still in use today and top models are up to 58% faster than a MacBook Air with M3.

Microsoft’s campaign to push people onto Windows 11 hasn’t been a rousing success. Most Windows 10 users hate the intrusive, full-screen pop-up nags, made worse by the most recent version that sometimes crashes when it opens.

Not what Satya Nadella wants to see

Windows 10 reaches its end-of-support date on October 14, meaning no more security updates after this point unless you pay for them. Nevertheless, Windows 10’s global user share increased to 62.7% over the last two months as Windows 11’s fell to 34.1% – though more Steam survey participants seem to prefer the newer OS.

Citing IDC data, Mehdi writes that nearly 80% of businesses are planning to refresh their PC portfolio by the end of 2025, and 70% of consumers will refresh their PCs in the next two years.

In related news, security experts warn that the end of support for Windows 10 could put most Windows devices at risk, not to mention the software and hardware compatibility issues.

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