Windows 10 hits its end-of-support date on October 14, 2025, and it's fast approaching. Despite requests and pleas from millions of users, including a Public Interest Research Group that filed a petition asking Microsoft to reconsider its decision to end support for Windows 10, citing "the single biggest jump in junked computers ever," the tech giant isn't changing its plans.
As such, Windows 10 users are left with limited options: upgrading to Windows 11, paying up for an additional year of support through the Extended Security Updates program, or switching to another operating system entirely.
It's apparent that Microsoft wants users to upgrade to Windows 11, but its stringent minimum system requirements for the operating system are making the transition an uphill task. Many Windows 10 users may have to ditch their current, incompatible devices to buy new Copilot+ PCs or other devices loaded with Windows 11.
Microsoft hasn't been shy about its campaign for Copilot+ PCs, touting it as the perfect device for an intuitive Windows 11 experience with better battery life, faster performance than Apple's MacBook Air M4, and up to 5x faster than a 5-year-old Windows 10 device.
However, a small team known as End of 10 has a different (yet exhaustingly familiar) approach and solution to Windows 10's imminent death.
Rather than buying a new device to meet Microsoft's stringent system requirements for Windows 11, the group floats the idea of ditching the Windows ecosystem entirely and switching to Linux on their outdated Windows 10 devices.
Interestingly, a report by Canalys claims approximately 240 million PCs aren't Windows 11-ready because of the system requirement limitations.
Will Microsoft ever lose a chunk of its market share to Linux?
For context, the End of 10 group consists of users from the Linux community and the KDE project, which includes the Windows-like KDE Plasma desktop environment.
While it remains unclear how Windows 10 users will approach this recycled idea, it could pose a threat to Microsoft's market share if any particular Linux distro could finally offer comparable native app support.
Unlike Windows, End of 10 promotes Linux for its lack of ads and telemetry tracking. Additionally, the group promotes Linux as a free and open-source operating system, making it a cheaper alternative than ditching your current device to buy a new PC for Windows 11.
The group also says that the approach is friendly to the environment as it will reduce e-waste, which is one of the most prominent issues of Windows 10 reaching End of Life (EoL).
End of 10 says "most" people should be able to get Linux to run on their devices and recommends searching for Linux distributions for beginners as the first step. And if you happen to get stuck, the group affirms that the Linux community will lend a helping hand, but that won't help a lack of anti-cheat support for popular multiplayer games and other missing support for native Windows apps.
As highlighted by Tom's Hardware, there is a comprehensive list of shops and tech collectives that are willing to offer Linux support, most of which are located in Germany, while the rest are scattered across other parts of Europe.
• Editor's note:
Windows 11's market share (42.69%) has grown steadily, but Windows 10 continues to dominate the category at 54.2%, and the "year of the Linux desktop" continues to be a touted promise that hasn't yet made its mark.
While the looming end of support for Windows 10 is problematic, it'll be a difficult (and ongoing) challenge for Linux fans to win over the majority, and this isn't a new trend by any means. Linux and Windows continue to work in harmony with broad app cross-compatibility, but significantly denting Microsoft's OS market share would be an incredible feat, if it ever happens. — Ben Wilson, Senior Editor
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