When life closes a door, it tends to find a way to open a window. This week the tech industry may have tried a bit too hard to make that literally the case. Sony slammed the door shut on physical media while Microsoft extended the window of support for Windows 10.
Over the last seven days, we saw the Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go retired, PlayStation announced the end of discs, Sony revoked movies people paid for, and Xbox studios pushed toward a dissatisfying end. We also received new details on a potential disc-to-digital program for Xbox and gained another year of security updates for Windows 10.
A leaked video even gave us a glimpse of Copilot OS, though the door was never open for that AI-centered operating system to ship to consumers.
Biggest News of the Week
Surface Go 4 and Surface Laptop Go 3 are now out of stock in most places, and sources say there are no plans to restock them or replace them with a successor.
Xbox Helix is likely to be joining PlayStation 5 in dropping discs. A new report describes how Microsoft plans to mitigate the issue.
Microsoft's extended support for Windows 10 through 2027 is casting doubt on Windows 11’s future.
Image credit: Screenshot: Microsoft
A leaked video from 2024 has revealed all about Microsoft's internal explorations for a Copilot OS running on a stripped back Windows codebase.
Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
Sony will delete over 550 movies from PlayStation user libraries. The move highlights the fragile reality of digital ownership and reinforces Gabe Newell's famous 2011 philosophy on piracy.
Image credit: Xbox Game Studios
A new report claims Xbox is considering canceling Marvel's Blade as part of a wider restructuring that could include layoffs, studio mergers, and potential spinoffs.
In a week full of things ending and rumors of shutdowns, it was refreshing to see that a disc-to-digital program could finally make its way to Xbox. Microsoft laid the foundation for that program with the Xbox One over a decade ago, but the company never rolled it out.
With Sony announcing plans to shut down its production of physical discs, Microsoft went in a different direction. While the next Xbox might not have a disc drive, it may support converting discs to digital licenses.
Microsoft has not made a final decision about the disc-to-digital program. With digital ownership under threat and Sony making such an unpopular decision, it would be a major miss if Xbox fails to take advantage.
Shopping with Sean
I'm happy to share that laptop deals remain strong and plentiful this week. Right now, you can get the Dell XPS 13 at a major discount. Both the Snapdragon X Elite and Intel Core Ultra 7 versions of that PC are on sale.
The HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is $650 off despite the laptop launching recently. It's one of the first PCs with the Snapdragon X2 Elite chip and is the prettiest laptop of the year, according to our review from Zac Bowden.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
