Windows 10 has been referred as “the last version of Windows” based on paradigm “Windows-as-a-service”, an ongoing product, constantly updated, with both patches and new features added on over time.
In contradiction to the above statement, Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet says that Windows 10 will reach end of life on 2025-10-14.
These statements seem contradicting.
If the latter is true, it could still be better to purchase OEM Windows with new computer (the same way as before Windows 10) because there will be no need to keep it longer than the computer. But if the first statement is true, more costs could be saved by purchasing retail version of Windows 10 and just migrating it between computers with each purchase of the new computer.
Which of the above Microsoft statements should be trusted in relation to choosing Windows 10 license?
Answer
I have found that Ed Bott is usually one of the more reliable sources when it comes to Microsoft policies. He watches their support cycles rather closely and said the following:
If you're concerned about the ramifications of that OEM support clause, you can rest easy, based on what I've heard from insiders with knowledge of the new rules.
You can upgrade to Windows 10 today even on devices where the OEM does not officially support Windows 10 and has no plans to do so. If an OEM sells a device running Windows 10 today and stops delivering driver and firmware updates for it, the device will continue working and it won't stop receiving updates.
It's possible that some new features in a future version of Windows 10 won't work on older devices. In fact, that scenario is already true for the Windows Hello feature, which will only be available at launch on a handful of devices with Intel RealSense cameras. But in those cases the devices will still receive security fixes and other feature updates for which it's eligible.
One question Microsoft didn't answer today is what happens in two or three years. In the past, that would have been time for a new version of Windows to take its place on the support lifecycle chart and bump the old one down a notch. With Windows as a continually evolving platform, that option isn't available.
One clue about what happens next is in that updated support lifecycle page. All other client operating systems are listed by their major version number: Windows 7, Windows 8, and so on. The new entry reads, "Windows 10, released in July 2015."
My guess, based on that language, is that in the next two years or so we'll see an extension of the 10-year lifecycle based on a new baseline release date. But that's just speculation, and we'll have to wait for the actual answer.
The last paragraph seems to be the key. The official Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet specifically emphasized the version when they labeled Windows 10, released in July 2015 as reaching the end of extended support in 2025. He went on to elaborate a bit more in an article he updated two months ago:
In the run-up to the release of Windows 10, many wondered whether Microsoft would take the opportunity to change its support lifecycle. The answer, as announced with the release of the new operating system in July 2015, is no. The traditional 10-year support lifecycle continues, with a five-year mainstream support phase that began on July 29, 2015, and a second five-year extended support phase that begins in 2020 and extends until October 2025.
A note to that policy qualifies the support commitment to devices where the OEM continues to support Windows 10 on that device.
Windows 10 feature updates (the new name for what used to be full-version upgrades) are delivered via Windows Update automatically. Microsoft released the first major update, version 1511, in November 2015; the second feature update, version 1607 (aka the Anniversary Update) was released last summer.
These updates are required for ongoing support. As a result, the only customers who are likely to care about the 10-year upgrade cycle are those running the Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) in enterprise deployments. The 2015 LTSB release shares the support dates shown here. For the 2016 LTSB release, the support dates are pushed out by a year, to October 12, 2021, and October 13, 2026, respectively.
Ultimately, his educated guess is that the end of support date listed as 2025 is for the RTM version of Windows 10. Eventually, they will probably update that support date matrix with an end of support date that extends past 2025 once the RTM version is no longer considered to be the official baseline.
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