Did Microsoft lie when they said they Windows 10 was the final upgrade?

There is a Windows 11 in the works as I just heard today. I don’t know if Microsoft lied as I don’t know that they said Windows 10 was the final upgrade.

Microsoft is not the one that made such an announcement. A developer did. Microsoft did not comment on the statement.

I take exception to your saying “did Microsoft lie…?” They changed their mind. It isn’t fair to hold companies to a standard that you don’t personally meet.

They well probably upgrade to windows 11 when we start upgrading the whole internet.

Why does it matter what they said six years ago? I think that they used that ‘message’ to get people to buy newer hardware (in other words Microsoft was in cahoots with hardware makers to build a more demanding operating system (W10) so that the hardware makers would make more money. And after that horrible Windows 8 debacle, they had to do something.

History is repeating itself. Windows 11 is already out in beta, but they made the decision to require even more powerful hardware. My desktop computer is 5 years old and very much top-of-the-line, but W11 won’t run on it. So I am going to keep my old machine and blow off the W11 hype machine.

The other point to make is that companies ‘lie’ all the time for sales reasons. Given the near constant changes in technology, I can’t see any company being held to merchandising promises made half a decade ago.

I have the feeling they decided to call it Windows 11 because macOS finally moved to version 11 in 2020 after being on version 10 for 20 years. It’s just a marketing thing. Windows 11 has some interesting improvements, but it’s not a radical overhaul of Windows 10 (nor was macOS 11 an overhaul of macOS 10) and it will be a free upgrade for any Windows 10 owner so it’s not quite the same as forcing everyone to buy a new license. As for whether they lied, well, I think that probably was the plan at the time in 2015 and it changed only recently.

Not only did they lie, they also defenestrated me sainted mother from a 10th-floor strip club! ;-(

@elbanditoroso Wow! So to paraphrase what you just wrote:

* Why does it matter if they LIED six years ago?
* I think they LIED to manipulate people to buy newer hardware.
* They HAD to do “something” after how much Windows 8 sucked [ so why not LIE? ].
* Windows 11 is also designed to manipulate people to buy newer hardware.
* Companies lie all the time to deceive people to get more sales.
* You don’t think anyone will mind being lied to, because technology changes.

Interesting set of ideas there.

My contrasting reactions to your ideas, if anyone’s interested are more like:

* Yep Microsoft lied their asses off about Windows 10 being the last version. They also lied about (to quote Emperor Palpatine “about a great many things” about Windows 10.)
* They also intentionally designed Windows 10 to require newer hardware.
* Windows 8 sucked, and as usual MS reacted a bit to the complaints, so Win 10 was designed to try to be a bit more likable, but still had many anti-features built in. Their monopoly position and huge wealth and position mean they probably shouldn’t lie and have no good reason to be evil, but sadly their corporate culture and leadership are still greed-and-conquest we-don’t-care-if-we’re-evil?
* Windows 11 continues to demonstrate MS’ policy of making features IT wants, even if people don’t, including requiring newer hardware.
* Other evil companies also cynically lie their asses off and do other evils, but that’s no justification for doing likewise, or for supporting them or excusing them.
* Some people do notice and mind being lied to and abused, but cynics will excuse the lying, and MS fans and others in denial due to their lack of alternatives, will continue to endorse and deny the abuses.

Not sure if they lied when they said that Windows 10 would be the last Windows ever, or just idiots.
With every advancement in hardware, the OS would need to support that, while at the same time, you can not drop support for old hardware, as the mandatory Windows update would then brick someone’s PC that is getting on in age. So your OS gets more bloated as legacy code just gets piled on top of each other.
A new version of Windows was inevitable.
From what I have read, the main reason Windows 11 itself is a thing now, is that they want to force people to use TPM and Secure Boot, to increase security and reduce malware infections.
Which, of course, almost no one would do on an existing Windows 10 installation, because 1. On systems of a certain age, you have to buy an extra module to slot into your motherboard.
2. Since it was most likely the default type of installation, you then have to open the command line interface, and convert your Windows installation from MBR to GPT.
3. Then you have to go into your BIOS to enable Secure Boot, and on newer CPUS with built in fTPM, enable that, too.
And even if everything works, there is a good chance some software you have installed starts acting up. (Which happened to me. 3ds Max started to take forever to open files, so I had to load a backup, and then rebuild the Master Boot Record.)

99% of Windows users would throw their hands up in despair when faced with that task.