A study estimates that a change made to Windows by Microsoft from 2025 could have a fundamental impact on the world of computers.
Microsoft is always pushing its users a little more towards Windows 11. The Redmond firm had announced that from 2025, Windows 10 updates would be interrupted. A position on which she had to return in view of the many negative reactions, to simply make them pay off. However, despite this backpedaling, the transition to Windows 11 could well be an ecological disaster.
Hundreds of millions of abandoned computers?
This is a study that Microsoft must not have really appreciated. Canalys has just produced a new report which explains that the end of free updates for Windows 10 from 2025 could result in some 240 million computers being scrapped around the world. An impressive figure, corresponding to 480 million kilograms of waste.
This problem would be due to the fact that to run Windows 11, the presence of a TPM 2.0 chip on the computer’s motherboard is essential. Many devices that are still perfectly viable will therefore not be able to upgrade to the latest version of Windows benefiting from free updates. And the paid subscription needed to keep Windows 10-equipped computers secure could end up deterring owners from keeping them.
The good deal for the IT sector
Canalys adds that if this massive scrapping of electronic devices represents an ecological disaster, it will take place at a time when the computer market is on the rise again. The firm thus sees this market increasing by 8% during the year 2024, after two particularly complicated years for the sector.
The changes made by Microsoft should be part of the drivers of this growth. As a reminder, Intel CEO Dave Zinsner shared his optimism about the year to come in October when talking about Windows: “ We actually believe that 2024 will be a good year for customers, especially, due to Windows Update. » He was then discussing Windows 12. But the problems caused by the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 could also contribute to the growth in purchases.
Source : Canalys, Neowin
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