Microsoft Calls 2025 “The Year of The Windows 11 PC Refresh”

As CES 2025 is about to kick off tomorrow, January 7, Microsoft wants the annual trade show to kick off a new PC refresh cycle. Yusuf Mehdi, Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft called 2025 “the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh,” emphasizing new security features and AI-powered capabilities available on Copilot+ PCs.

“As CES 2025 begins, showcasing the latest innovations in technology, we are excited for the advancements our industry will offer to people around the globe,” Medhi wrote. “The momentum and innovation across the Windows ecosystem will make 2025 a new year of possibility for our customers. And 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.”

Even though Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025, the OS is still the most popular version of Windows with a 62.7% market share in December 2024 according to Statcounter. While Microsoft will offer a paid Extended Security Updates program for organizations and consumers who aren’t ready yet to upgrade to Windows 11, the company would much prefer if these users bought a new Windows 11 PC.

When Microsoft ended security updates and technical support for Windows 7 in January 2020, the OS had a much lower 24.9% market share according to Statcounter (https://gs.statcounter.com/windows-version-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-202001-202001-bar). That dropped to just 9.55% in January 2023, which is when Microsoft ended its Extended Security Update program for Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise editions.

Nearly four years after the launch of Windows 11, it’s clear that the OS’ strict hardware requirements left a lot of Windows 10 users on the sidelines. Most people who could upgrade to Windows 11 have probably done it already, leading us to this quite unprecedented situation where most Windows users will no longer be supported in less than a year. Anyway, for Microsoft, Windows 11 is the clear way forward.

“Whether the current PC needs a refresh, or it has security vulnerabilities that require the latest hardware-backed protection, now is the time to move forward with a new Windows 11 PC,” Mehdi wrote. The exec also cited a June 2024 IDC report claiming that nearly 80% of businesses are planning to refresh their PC portfolio by the end of 2025, with 70% of consumers expected to refresh their PCs in the next two years.

You can expect a lot of PC manufacturers to announce new Windows 11 PCs at CES, and AMD and Intel are also announcing new desktop and mobile CPUs today. “Our OEM partners will offer incredible devices with breakthrough features at a price for everyone. And our global retailers will offer incredible selection, value and PC recycling programs to assist you in trading in your old device and selecting a new one,” Mehdi emphasized today.

Do you expect Windows 11 to overtake Windows 10 as the most popular version of Windows before the end of the year? Or do you expect Windows 10 users to keep using their devices as long as possible? Sound off in the comments below.