General News

Can you still use Windows 8? Is it still supported?

Windows 8 was released on October 6th 2012 for retail use. However, it was majorly criticised by businesses and consumers alike. This was mainly due to the unorthodox layout caused by the Metro User Interface.

Unorthodox Layout

Going back to the Metro UI in Windows 8 and 8.1, it was more mobile-centric, and at the time Windows 8 was released, mobile and tablet sales were starting to cut into computer sales.

Statcounter states that the device marketshare currently sits at 54.33% mobile devices, 2.9% tablet devices, and 42.77% desktop devices.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Platform Comparison Market Share

On-going Support

On the 10th July 2018, so nearly 3 years ago, Microsoft ceased mainstream support for Windows 8 and 8.1. However, this doesn’t mean you’ll need to upgrade to Windows 10, it just means that it won’t receive any feature updates.

In just over 2 years, on June the 11th 2023, Microsoft will officially cease all security fixes and updates for Windows 8/8.1. If you still use Windows 8 after this date, I would strongly advise you backup all your data and upgrade to Windows 10. But we haven’t crossed this bridge yet, so there’s no need to panic.

Your Windows 8/8.1 computer WON’T suddenly blow up at 00:01 on June 11th 2023, it just means that any security flaws that arise will no longer be attended to by Microsoft, and that you should be very careful as your data will become more vulnerable as time goes on.

Upgrading to Windows 10

Microsoft, has made it clear that Windows 10 will be the last OS released by Microsoft.

There will be minor updates along the year, with 2 major feature updates per year, for example, the 2004 and 20H2 updates we saw through 2020.

Should you upgrade to Windows 10? Yes. Do you have to do it right now? No, not until June the 11th 2023 that is.

Windows 7

In 2009, Windows 7 was released for retail use, and was a big hit with businesses and regular users. Windows 7 even managed to thrive through the years that Windows 8 and 8.1 came into play.

As of January the 8th 2020, Microsoft ceased all security fixes and updates for Windows 7, and thus over 80% of active customers were migrated over to Windows 10 by mid-2020.

If you’re using Windows 7, NOW is the time to upgrade, as your data could be in danger.

Thank you for reading

Thank you for reading, if you’re using a computer that’s Windows 7 and older, you may be subject to slower performance and less security.

Don’t hesitate to phone 01329 535 001 or email [email protected] and we can co-operate with you to find a solution. Alternatively, come visit our workshop in Lee-on-the-Solent (address at the bottom of our website).

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Tags: General News

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