Microsoft hopes that the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week would encourage Windows users to switch to new PCs running the most recent version of the operating system and specialised AI chips.
Declaring 2017 “the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh,” the business cites the imminent October 2025 end of support for Windows 10, as well as the introduction of AI-enabled Copilot+ PCs on Windows 11, as reasons to make the upgrade.
Microsoft has a tremendous job ahead. Statcounter reported that more than 62% of Windows PC users were still using Windows 10 as of December. As of last month, approximately 34% of PCs ran Windows 11.
Windows 10 was released in mid-2015, over ten years ago. The company’s planned end of support on October 14, 2025, means that it will no longer provide free software upgrades, technical support, or security updates.
“We believe that one of the most important pieces of technology people will look to refresh in 2025 isn’t the refrigerator, the television or their mobile phone. It will be their Windows 10 PC, and they will move forward with Windows 11,” writes Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer.
According to Microsoft, a number of hardware manufacturers will make announcements about Windows 11 PCs at CES. Currently, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, Samsung, and Microsoft’s own Surface line offer devices.
Neural processing units, or NPUs, on Copilot+ PCs are made to function with AI models and applications. According to Microsoft, they can outperform the most widely used 5-year-old Windows PCs by up to five times. It claims that the highest models of these new devices outperform a MacBook Air with an M3 CPU by up to 58%.
Microsoft also cites longer battery life and enhanced security as justifications for the upgrade.
According to the company, IDC research shows that 70% of consumers will upgrade over the next two years, while nearly 80% of enterprises intend to update their PC portfolios by the end of this year.
In a news release from June 2024, Linn Huang, research vice president at IDC, predicted that AI would eventually be commonplace on PCs. Meanwhile, the number of AI PCs (here referred to as those with NPUs) is increasing from about one in five sold this year to almost two out of every three in 2028.
Copilot+ PCs, which were first introduced with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors last year, are now also equipped with AMD Ryzen AI and Intel Core Ultra processors. Through its Windows Insider program, Microsoft is giving Copilot+ PC users a first peek at future capabilities, such as the Windows Recall photographic memory.
In his post, Mehdi states that an improved Windows search feature will be available shortly.
On Monday, January 6, at 6:30 p.m. Pacific time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will give the opening keynote address at CES in Las Vegas. Bill Gates, a co-founder of Microsoft, had this prominent speaking position for many years.