Say goodbye to Windows 10

2025 will herald a major change for users of the world’s most popular computer operating system — Microsoft’s Windows 10.

Microsoft is officially ending support for the decade-old OS in less than 10 months. From 14 October 2025, Windows 10 will no longer receive new features, bug fixes, or security updates.

Microsoft has advised users with supported PCs to upgrade to Windows 11 to ensure their devices remain secure and offer the best functionality.

Despite Windows 11 being available for more than three years and generally being well-regarded, many Windows 10 users are seemingly reluctant — or unable — to make the switch.

Windows 10 has remained the most popular operating system in terms of market share — and by some margin.

Succeeding the disastrous Windows 8 and slightly improved Windows 8.1, Windows 10 was a major success for Microsoft.

The OS had accumulated over 200 million users less than five months after its launch in late July 2015.

That is more than double the number the critically-acclaimed Windows 7 had within six months of its launch.

By early 2020, Windows 10 had over a billion active users, cementing Microsoft’s market lead.

According to GlobalStats Statcounter, Windows 10’s share of the total Windows user base peaked at around 82.5% in December 2021, two months after Windows 11 rolled out to the public.

From then, its usage gradually declined and Windows 11 started gaining momentum.

However, after a year, Windows 11 still only had around 15% market share, while the older OS was still used by over 71% of Windows users.

Three years and three months since Windows 11 launched, 62.7% of Windows users are still running Windows 10, compared to 34.12% with Windows 11.

Microsoft has kept mum on Windows 11 user count but Forbes estimated that Windows 10 still had about 800 million users by early December 2024.

That would put Windows 11’s user base somewhere in the region of 435 million, around double the number Windows 10 had less than half a year after launching.

There was also a noteworthy shift back in favour of Windows 10 towards the end of 2024.

That came after Microsoft announced it would offer an affordable extended security update (ESU) package for the older OS.

For $30 (R556) per PC per year, users will continue getting security updates.

Although the update to Windows 11 is completely free for those with a legitimate Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7 product key, many users have complained about what they deem to be excessive system requirements.

Windows 11’s minimum required specifications are as follows:

• Processor: 1GHz or faster with two or more cores and 64-bit support
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB
• Security: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0, UEFI firmware, Secure Boot capability
• Graphics: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver
• Display: 720p or higher resolution, 9-inch or greater size, 8 bits per colour channel

The biggest potential hurdle for the slow uptake from that list is the TPM 2.0 support.

TPM 2.0 is a physical or embedded security microcontroller on a motherboard or processor and is necessary for Windows Hello and BitLocker data protection in Windows 11.

Most consumer-grade motherboards do not have TPM 2.0 chips, it is typically supported through the processor.

Nearly all Intel processors released before 2017 and all AMD processors from before 2018 do not have TPM 2.0.

That includes powerful chips in the Core-i7, Core-i9, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen Threadripper ranges, many of which still offer excellent performance — even in demanding applications like gaming.

While there are workarounds for ignoring the TPM 2.0 requirement, Microsoft has warned that doing so could lead to potential stability and security issues in Windows 11.

Windows 11 laptops available on the cheap

Desktop users at least have the option of buying a newer processor to enable TPM 2.0 on their system.

Laptop users with non-TPM 2.0 chips cannot swap out their processors and will have to upgrade their machines altogether.

That being said, many budget laptops released since 2017 will be able to install and run Windows 11 without any issues.

That is because one of the most common CPU ranges used in the most affordable laptops since that date — Intel’s Celeron N4000 series — supports TPM 2.0.

We found many laptops selling from prominent South African stores featuring these chips and Windows 11 pre-installed, priced from R3,199.

They also had all the other necessary hardware to ensure full Windows 11 compatibility.

If you cannot afford to buy one of these machines or if you are reluctant to move away from Windows 10 or your current unsupported PC, then paying Microsoft R556 for the ESU package may be your best option.

Below are three of the most affordable laptops with Windows 11 pre-installed that South Africans can buy from major stores in January 2025.

Connex 14-inch Swift Book Pro — R3,199 (Takealot)

Thomson Neo 15C — R3,299 (Takealot)

Proline Thinline V146GNB — R3,499 (Makro)