Although Microsoft has already stop selling Windows 7 to retailers on October 30, 2013, the company was supposed to also discontinue the sale of Windows 7 with new PCs exactly a year after. Now things are a bit different as the company revealed that it has mistakenly updated the “end of sales” policy for Windows 7 and in fact the software giant will actually continue the sale of the operating system to PC makers until further notice.
Basically this means that starting October 30, 2013, chances are that you won’t be able to buy the operating system in your local retailer. But you’ll be able to buy a new PC preinstalled with Windows 7 as the new “end of sales” for the OS on new PCs now reads “to be determined”.
“We have yet to determine the ‘end of sales’ date for PCs with Windows 7 preinstalled,” — Microsoft states. “The October 30 date that posted to the Windows Lifecycle page globally last week was done so in error. We have since updated the website to note the correct information, [and] we apologize for any confusion this may have caused our customers. We’ll have more details to share about the Windows 7 lifecycle once they become available.”
“We are confirming that the retail-software ‘end of sales’ date for Windows 7 did happen on October 30, 2013,” the company adds.
Even though Microsoft is working hard to convince users to move to Windows 8, the reality is that many Windows XP users including businesses see Windows 7 as the next logical upgrade, skipping Windows 8 for now, since this is a different operating system and in some cases it’s hard to use. Maybe Microsoft will wait to set an ‘end of sales’ for Windows 7 until Windows 8.2 comes out (currently known as “Threshold”) as the current rumors indicates that the software giant will bring back even more familiar features such as the Start menu and it will allow users to use modern apps in the desktop.
If you think about it, Microsoft is playing it safe here with the goal of boost sales on PCs, no matter if it’s with Windows 7 or with Windows 8.1, and finally pull the plug on Windows XP. So we’ll still see Windows 7 for while, according to lifecycle the mainstream support will continue until January 13, 2015, and the extended support will happen until January 14, 2020.
Source Microsoft via WinSuperSite
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].