Windows 10 users face major new blow despite recent Microsoft U-turn

It’s no secret that Windows 10 is not long for this world, with Microsoft planning to end support for the decade-old operating system on October 14, 2025. From that date, the firm will mark Windows 10 as end of life, and has for months been pushing users to upgrade their PCs to Windows 11.

This is possible via a free software update, but there are strict system requirements that Windows 11 requires, so some users are hesitating, preferring to stick with Windows 10 rather than buying a whole new computer.

Although recent numbers show that, for the first time ever, there are more Windows 11 users worldwide now than Windows 10, Microsoft appears to be adding a few asterisks to Windows 10’s impending end of life status.

In January of this year Microsoft had originally said it would stop supporting all Microsoft 365 apps come the October Windows 10 deadline, but it performed a U-turn on that in May when it confirmed it would continue to provide security updates for Microsoft 365 apps for Windows 10 users for three additional years, taking support to October 2028.

This means although Windows 10 as an operating system would stop receiving free updates, apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook would get three more years of security updates to keep them ticking over.

That was good news, but, as spotted by The Verge, Microsoft has confirmed that these apps will definitely not be getting any new features as of August 2026, ensuring people using Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10 will get left behind.

“Devices running Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 will receive feature updates until Version 2608 is released on the following dates,” a support document on Microsoft website says, then confirmed August 2026 for consumer users of Windows 10.

It means that come August 2026, Windows 10 users will not get new features as and when they are rolled out to Microsoft 365 apps for Windows 11. It means to get new features after that date, you’ll have to upgrade to Windows 11 on your current PC, or buy a new one.

The only way for Windows 10 users to continue receiving security updates for the OS is to pay Microsoft $30 per year as part of the company’s Extended Security Updates initiative. This is less than ideal, and is surely designed to push people towards Windows 11.