Next-Gen CPUs Will Only Support Windows 10

Microsoft and industry partners are taking significant steps to ensure users upgrade to Windows 10.

All next-generation processors built by Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, or others, will only support Windows 10, Microsoft confirmed in a recent blog post. That means if you buy a PC with these upgraded chips—Intel's "Kaby Lake," Qualcomm's "8996," and AMD's "Bristol Ridge"—they will only run Windows 10; you can't downgrade to Windows 7 or 8.1.

"Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support," wrote Microsoft's executive vice president of the Windows and Devices Group, Terry Myerson. "This enables us to focus on deep integration between Windows and the silicon, while maintaining maximum reliability and compatibility with previous generations of platform and silicon."

If you have a PC running Intel's Skylake chips, meanwhile, Microsoft would also like you to upgrade to Windows 10 immediately. If that's not possible—perhaps your employer is not quite ready to upgrade the office—Microsoft said it will "deliver a list of specific new Skylake devices" that will support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1—but only until July 17, 2017.

Once we hit that date, "the most critical Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates will be addressed for these configurations, and will be released if the update does not risk the reliability or compatibility of the Windows 7/8.1 platform on other devices."

According to PC World, the list of supported Skylake PCs includes:

• Dell Latitude 12
• Dell Latitude 13 7000 Ultrabook
• Dell XPS 13
• HP EliteBook Folio
• HP EliteBook 1040 G3
• Lenovo ThinkPad T460s
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
• Lenovo ThinkPad P70

"This approach ensures our customers can upgrade now to new devices their employees will love while preparing for a Windows 10 upgrade," Myerson wrote.

Overall support for Windows 7 runs until through January 14, 2020 on previous generation silicon. Windows 8.1 will receive the same support through January 10, 2023, Microsoft said.

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Redmond stressed, however, that "Windows 7 was designed nearly 10 years ago before any x86/x64 SOCs existed." Running the OS on newer PCs requires "device drivers and firmware...to emulate Windows 7's expectations for interrupt processing, bus support, and power states- which is challenging for Wi-Fi, graphics, security, and more."

The move is a potentially important one for Microsoft's PC vendor partners. PC makers currently need to ensure that their computers work with current and legacy versions of Windows. Indeed, customers can still choose whether to go with Windows 10 or use "downgrade rights" for Windows 8.1. By making this change, PC makers will only need to worry about Windows 10 support.

Meanwhile, Microsoft benefits. The company is all but guaranteeing that the future will be bright for Windows 10, since all PC makers will be shipping products that can only work on the platform. It's a critical component for the company as it works to reach 1 billion Windows 10 devices worldwide. As of this writing, Microsoft has over 200 million Windows 10 devices running worldwide.