[German]Microsoft tried to tell people in a techcommunity post a few hours ago that Windows 10 version 22H2 is the last version of this operating system and that you should kindly switch to Windows 11. The tech community post also mentioned that they are planning to release a Windows 11 LTSC (probably in authum 2024).
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I got got already two hints from my blog readers pointing to Microsoft's from my reader – a German comment and as an email from German reader Robert (thanks for that) on that topic. Microsoft has published the Techcommunity post Windows client roadmap update with two announcements on April 27, 2023.
- It's about the support end of Windows 10 and the change to Windows 11
- And a "long-term version" of Windows 11 LTSC is presented
What struck me ad hoc was the sentence "We know that a clear Windows client roadmap update helps consumers and businesses plan their Windows release activities." A fixed roadmap is one thing, the other side is the statements that Microsoft steam talkers spout off like this over time. They always say, Windows 10 Home/Pro receive 18 months support after release, and support ends in May 2024, which is now no longer valid.
Windows 10 22H2 is the last version
In the Techcommunity post Windows client roadmap update, Jason Leznek from Microsoft writes that the current version 22H2 will be the last version of Windows 10. In doing so, he further specifies the following:
- All editions of Windows 10 will continue to be supported with monthly security updates until October 14, 2025.
- Existing Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC versions will continue to receive updates based on their specific lifecycles after that date.
Leznek points to the Windows 10 Home und Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise and Education lifecycle pages, which state the "end of support" is Oct. 14, 2025. After that date, Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates and will no longer be supported. That the Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC versions will receive support for longer has also always been certain.
Thus, Microsoft's earlier statement that the Windows versions in the home area and in the enterprise environment will be provided with monthly quality updates for different lengths of time (18 or 30 months) is also dead. Normally, Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro would have been out of support as early as May 2024. Microsoft has corrected the product pages (e.g. Windows 10 release information) in the meantime. There, the end of support is consistently October 14, 2025, after which there will be no more updates.
At this point, I am left with the hope that Microsoft will stop continuing to torment Windows 10 users with pointless features like the search highlights in the taskbar (see Windows 10: Microsoft expands "search highlights" in search area (May 19, 2022)) and that stability will slowly return.
Microsoft "recommends" switching to Windows 11 in the Techcommunity article, but conceals the fact that the majority of machines are still simply not compatible with this operating system from Redmond. One user also commented the following in the Techcommunity article: Maybe finish Windows 11 before forcing us onto it? – the commentor nailed it. The Techcommunity article has 5 comments so far, none of them contain the tenor "Wonderful that we are allowed to switch to Windows 11".
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October 14, 2025 will definitely be a turning point for Windows 10 users – Microsoft will end Support, and Windows 11 renders computers to be electronic wast – we will see an upgrade scandal – caused by Microsoft. In my eyes, it's time to look for alternatives.
Windows 11 LTSC announced
Microsoft previously offered the Long-Term Servicing Channel editions of Windows 10, which received no feature updates but up to 10 years of support. However, LTSC is only available for Windows 10 Enterprise. Microsoft explains this in the Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC support post, but points out that this channel should only be used for specific use cases where feature updates are not needed.
It's important to note, however, that Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 will only have a 5-year support lifecycle (see Neuigkeiten in Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021). I had pointed this out in the blog post Windows 10 LTSC: Next version with reduced 5 years support. However, there is a Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 from Microsoft that will continue to get 10 years of support (see my blog post Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 RTM, released to OEMs).
In the Techcommunity article Windows client roadmap update Jason Leznek then gives the hint that Microsoft is also planning LTSC versions of Windows 11 "in the 2nd half of 2024" and wants to release the following variants:
- Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC
- Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC
However, he didn't give any details here, because Microsoft doesn't want to announce them until later. Microsoft will publish new information on the Windows Realese Health site.
I'll put it this way: Read my explanations in the previous paragraphs of this section. Then it quickly becomes apparent that the Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC should only come with 5 years of support. And regarding the IoT variant, I expect something similar.
Actually, the IoT Enterprise LTSC variants with 10 years of support would be a nice platform to escape the unfortunate fiddling of Windows developers and finally be able to work with Windows. But here, Microsoft marketing probably puts a stop to it with the license conditions. Time to switch to other platforms.
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