As of October 2016, manufacturers of computers will no longer be allowed to pre-install Windows 7 Professional onto their machines. The October 31st deadline was added to the windows life cycle fact sheet fairly recently, sometime between late Thursday and mid-day Saturday, according to search caches. Following this new deadline, computer manufacturers or OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will only be allowed to sell their existing stocks of computers with pre-installed Windows 7 Professional.
Windows8 has been given an even earlier deadline of June 30, 2016, while devices installed with any version of Windows 8.1 including Windows 8.1 Pro have been given the same deadline of October 2016. Essentially, this translates to the fact that only devices powered by Windows 10 will be rolling off the assembly lines come next autumn since all three of the older operating systems will be banned.
Recent signs have pointed towards Microsoft’s push towards Windows 10, including their ending of retail sales of Windows 8 last year. Last month, they also ended retail sales of Windows 8.1. Originally Microsoft had given a deadline of October 31st 2014 for the end-of-sales deadline for Windows 7 Professional. This would have made it two years following the launch of Windows 8. However, after Microsoft posted that date in early 2014, it then rescinded it and, later on, restored it for consumer systems only. A deadline for Windows 7 Professional was left open. At this point, Microsoft had stated that it would provide a year’s notice prior to its demand that OEM’s stop manufacturing computers with pre-installed Windows 7 Pro. It just gave that notice. In effect, the October 31st 2016 deadline is a concession to its banning of Windows 8 and 8.1 in business because it extends Windows 7 Pro’s life by 2 years at the level of the OEMs.
After the October deadline, organizations which have Software Assurance (an annuity-style program that provides additional rights) and enterprise licensing agreements must purchase new personal computers with the pre-installed Windows 10 operating system but they will have the ability to downgrade their operating systems to the more popular, older Windows 7 if they wish to use the older version.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to the OEM extension. Windows 7 will soon face another fast approaching deadline. On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will issue the last security updates for Windows 7, giving it just a little over three years following the time that the last of the new PCs are built with this operating system.
Windows 7 remains the most popular of the Windows versions although it has crossed the half-way point of its decade of support. According to Net Applications (analytic vendor), of all the copies of Windows in use during October, Windows 7 accounted for nearly 62%. This exceeds all others by far with Windows XP accounting for just 13%, Windows 8/8.1 accounting for 15% and Windows 10 accounting for 9%. Even combined, these figures account for less than that of only Windows 7.
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