When Did Windows 8 Come Out

Video: Top features in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Windows viii.1 has passed another important milestone, going out of mainstream support a little over 5 years after the original operating system was released.

When mainstream support ends, developers can no longer request changes to product design or features, and users no longer become free support, although they tin can buy support if they want it. Users will as well get security updates until the end of extended support, which for Windows 8.1 is currently due to be ten January 2023. The original Windows eight went out of mainstream support in January 2016.

Encounter: IT pro's guide to the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (gratis PDF)

Mainstream support for Windows 10 is currently due to end on October 13, 2020, with extended support slated to lapse on October xiv, 2025.

Microsoft and most users will exist very grateful to put Windows eight and 8.1 behind them. Indeed, because the operating arrangement is but five years old, few are all the same using information technology.

According to data from NetMarketShare, Windows 8 and eight.1 PCs accounted for nearly seven percent of devices accessing the net at the end of final twelvemonth -- little more than Windows XP, which get-go went on sale in October 2001. This is more often than not because Microsoft offered a free update to Windows x, which many Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users cheerfully grabbed.

A footstep too far

Windows 8 launched in October 2012 with a colourful tiled interface that was a massive gamble, only 1 that Microsoft felt it had to make. The success of smartphones and tablets was making the traditional PC expect out of engagement, so Microsoft needed to bear witness that Windows could innovate beyond the tired-looking desktop. Information technology was a 'bet the company' moment, according to then-CEO Steve Ballmer.

Also: Windows viii: Why Microsoft'south giant adventure didn't pay off

Merely many users and businesses found Windows 8 a step besides far: the changes to the look and feel of the OS -- in particular the removal of the familiar Start button and the inability to kick to the desktop -- was met with horror by many. It was described as a 'design disaster' by ane critic, while others argued it had few articulate benefits over the much more familiar Windows 7.

Microsoft scrambled to respond, and a year after Windows 8.1 arrived with the Beginning button restored. Although the company encouraged as many as possible to update to 8.1, the harm was done: even with the tweaks, Windows 8.one never managed to catch upward with Windows 7, which in terms of popularity remains the top version of Windows to this day.

The design changes introduced in Windows 8 persist in modified form in Windows 10. The use of tiles brought Windows into line with blueprint language of tablets and smartphones, which is now the standard. As such, the shift embodied by Windows 8 may accept helped Microsoft in the long term, merely there was certainly a hitting in the brusque term when it came to Windows eight adoption.

Related coverage

Microsoft says older Windows versions will confront greatest operation hits after Meltdown, Spectre patches

Windows vii and Windows viii users volition notice the greatest subtract in system performance subsequently the processor patches are applied.

Microsoft in 2017: Windows x, company layoffs are the big stories

In spite of Microsoft'southward continued push button to be a cloud-first/AI-first visitor in 2017, ZDNet readers still were Windows watchers, first and foremost.

Windows Update is broken for some Windows 7 users

Some Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 users are reporting they can't check for updates using Windows Update and Microsoft Update. No word withal on a Microsoft gear up.

What is Windows 10 Fall Creators Update? Everything you need to know well-nigh Microsoft'southward large upgrade (TechRepublic)

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update promises to deliver new features large and small-scale to Windows desktops.

Why you need to upgrade from this older version of Windows 10 (CNET)

Microsoft is abandoning Windows ten version 1511 and yous should, as well.