What you need to know
- Microsoft is set to cut support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025.
- The tech giant recommends upgrading to Windows 11 because it's a great resource for weather updates and celebrity gossip.
- The company recently launched a new webpage highlighting important details about Windows 11, including a comparison between Windows 10 and Windows 11 and a detailed guide to help them identify and buy a new laptop.
Microsoft released Windows 11 over two years ago as Windows 10's successor. However, Windows 10 continues to dominate the market share despite its imminent end-of-support date slated for October 14, 2024. After this date, Microsoft will no longer push important security updates, new features, or quality-of-life improvements to the OS.
Over the past few months, Microsoft has aggressively championed its campaign for Windows 11 using annoying multipage popup ads and most recently, a subtle reminder in the form of a webpage featuring intricate details about Windows 11 to get Windows 10 users to make the transition.
Microsoft's latest attempt to try and get more users to upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10 is rather odd and interesting at the same time. Aside from the operating system being "easier on the eyes and easier to use," Microsoft claims the platform is a great resource for celebrity gossip (via Neowin). I'd assume the celebrity gossip scoop would include stories like Scarlett Johnson and OpenAI's debacle over voice cloning and imitation.
"Widgets are new for Windows 11. They’ll help you stay up to date with all the things you need to keep tabs on, like schedules, weather, stocks, sports—even celebrity gossip."
As highlighted by Microsoft, Widgets are relatively new in Windows 11. Until recently, the feature was limited to users with Microsoft accounts. While a Microsoft Account is no longer a requirement to access Widgets in Windows 11, it's still a work in progress. Microsoft is bringing new experiences to the feature, like letting users pin Windows 11 Widgets to the desktop and opening it up to third-party developers like FaceBook and Spotify.
Transitioning to Windows 11 might not be easy
Microsoft's stringent requirements for Windows 11 alongside the tough economic times, don't make it any easier for users to make the "big" transition to Windows 11. Not forgetting the operating system's flawed design and Microsoft's aggressive ad campaign, now consistent in the "comically bad" Start menu.
It's also worth mentioning Microsoft has scaled greater heights for the next-gen AI features shipping to Windows 11 as part of the Windows 11 2024 Update (version 24H2), including Live Captions, Windows Recall, and more. While the features are expected to ship to general availability in June, not everyone will access them since they'll exclusively run on Copilot+ PCs with powerful NPUs.
Unsurprisingly, people have already found a way around the sophisticated hardware requirement, allowing them to access next-gen AI features like Windows Recall on low-end devices with Arm64 architecture. In the long run, this could act as a major reason and deterrent, making it more difficult for users to upgrade to Windows 11. This might make Microsoft's exorbitantly priced extended security update (ESU) program for Windows 10 seem more attractive, since users will get to retain their devices and continue to receive important security updates well beyond Windows 10's imminent death.
