Microsoft expects Windows 7's demise to drive a wave of laptop upgrades

We reported earlier that PC sales had once again declined, making it the 7th year in the row of steady shrinkage of the market.

Microsoft and their OEMs, however, expect things to turn around next year, as Microsoft ends support for Windows 7.

“There are a few factors here,” said Mark Linton, GM of OEM Portfolio and Product Management for Microsoft. “Innovation in silicon, innovation in graphics [and] Windows 10 momentum in terms of the install base. Windows 7 is going end of support in a year, and so customers are looking to move to make sure they get updated and so on.”

Windows 10 only surpassed the installed base of Windows 7 last month, meaning hundreds of millions Windows users are still to upgrade their software and most likely hardware.

“Each silicon generation, things get thinner and better battery life,” Linton noted. “Again, I often compare it to that Windows 7 machine [that] is six or seven years old, compared to what you’re getting now, it blows your mind. Windows 7 support is a big one that we see customers thinking about, you know, ‘I want to upgrade to Windows 10, so I can get updates.’ And, just overall, excitement is back in the PC.”

It remains to be seen if Windows 10 and its reputation was actually part of what was keeping users from upgrading, but Microsoft has been doing its own bit recently to make Windows 7 less reliable with updates, and it is likely Microsoft will start another GWX-type program to encourage the unsupported Windows 7 users to upgrade for their own protection.

Via Techradar.com