Windows 7 will reach end of life for consumers next year

In exactly a year from today, that is January 14, 2020, Microsoft will end extended support for the Windows 7 operating system. In simpler terms, Windows 7 will reach end of life for consumers early next year. Note that Microsoft has already ended mainstream support for Windows 7 in 2015 but as a general practice, the company continues to offer extended support to users for 5 more years. 

Extended support includes paid technical assistance, security updates, and paid non-security updates: enough to let users continue using an operating system that they’ve grown to become familiar with over the years, with peace of mind that Microsoft will have their back when it comes to fixing flaws that may arise out of the blue from time to time. All Windows 7 users who’re on Service Pack 1 are eligible for extended support, according to Microsoft. 

Windows 7 may reach end of life for average consumers next year, but enterprise users can opt for Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) which will allow them to continue using Windows 7 (Professional and Enterprise versions) with the above assistance (perhaps even more) until January 2023.   

Windows 7 has been one of the most popular versions of Windows that Microsoft has ever come out with (like Windows XP was once upon a time) but good thing for Microsoft is that Windows 10 is now catching up.  

It may not be running on a billion devices yet, but Windows 10 is now officially the most popular operating system in the world, as per data released by Net Applications: Windows 10 held 39.22 per cent of desktop operating system market share in December 2018 compared to 36.9 per cent for Windows 7.  

To sum up, Windows 10 now powers more devices than Windows 7, an operating system that made its debut almost 10 years ago, and yet remained as popular for as long as it did due to shortcomings of all that came after (Windows 8 and Windows 8.1) and just before (Windows Vista) it. It is a big win for Microsoft that comes just in time even as it preps up to end its extended support for Windows 7. 

Also Read: Windows 10 Is Now The Most Popular Operating System In The World