Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 in October 2025, but the company is now taking the unusual step of reopening its beta program for Windows 10 to test new features and improvements.
Windows 10 already has the ai Copilot feature that was originally exclusive to Windows 11, and it may get other features soon. “To bring new features and more improvements to Windows 10 as needed, we need a place to do active feature development with Windows Insiders,” explains Microsoft's Windows Insider team. in a blog post. “That's why today we're opening the Beta channel to Windows Insiders currently using Windows 10.”
Microsoft hasn't revealed what additional Windows 10 features it plans to test next, but Windows Insiders can opt into the beta channel to get them early. Crucially, the Windows 10 end of support date of October 14, 2025 has not yet changed. “Joining the Beta Channel on your Windows 10 PC doesn't change that,” Microsoft says.
Microsoft changed its mind about new Windows 10 features late last year
Microsoft originally said it was done with major Windows 10 updates last year, before its shift in focus to bringing more features to an operating system that will officially end support in about 16 months. The software giant describes this change as a way to “make sure everyone can get the most value from their current Windows PC.”
Consumers using Windows 10 will also be offered paid security updates for the first time once the operating system ends support in October 2025. Microsoft recently revealed that businesses will have to pay $61 per device for a year of security updates . That fee doubles to $122 during the second year and then doubles again in the third year to $244. Pricing for the consumer security updates has not yet been revealed, and Microsoft promises that “it will be shared at a later date.”
Microsoft continues to try to get consumers to upgrade to Windows 11, but millions of PCs cannot officially upgrade to Windows 11 due to its strict hardware requirements and Microsoft's security push with its latest operating system. Windows 11 is only compatible with CPUs released after 2018 and devices that support TPM security chips.
The use of Windows 11 has fallen behind that of Windows 10, with List of statistics Windows 11 accounts for nearly 28 percent of the entire Windows release market share by May 2024. Windows 10 still accounts for 68 percent, nine years after its launch in 2015.
