In January 2016, Microsoft announced that it would no longer support Windows 8.1 or 7 on devices running Intel`s Skylake processor family as of July 17, 2018, and that all future processor microarchitectures as well as Skylake systems after that date would only be supported on Windows 10. After the deadline, only critical security updates should be released to users of these platforms. [126] [127] [128] [129] After this new policy was criticized by users and enterprise customers, Microsoft partially withdrew the change, stating that both operating systems would continue to be supported on Skylake hardware until the end of their extended support lifecycle. Windows 8.1 won`t be officially supported on all newer processor families, and neither AMD nor Intel will provide official chipset drivers for Windows operating systems other than Windows 10. [130] [131] However, in August 2016, Microsoft again extended Skylake`s support lifecycle until the end of support for Windows 7 and 8.1 (2020 and 2023, respectively). [132] [131] System requirements for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 are close to Windows 8 – if your PC is already running Windows 8 (or Windows RT), in most cases you`ll get the free upgrade to Windows 8.1 (or Windows RT 8.1). Before we begin, here are a few things to keep in mind. Retail distribution of Windows 8 has since been discontinued in favor of Windows 8.1. Unlike version 8, 8.1 is available for download as “full version” software both at retail and online, which does not require a previous version of Windows to be installed. The prices of these new copies remain the same. [150] With the rollback from the retail version to the full version of Windows 8.1, the personal use license exception has been removed from the OEM SKU, meaning that end users who build their own PCs for personal use must use the full retail variant to meet Windows 8.1 licensing requirements. [147] Windows 8.1 with Bing is a Windows 8.1 OEM-specific SKU subsidized by Microsoft`s Bing search engine. [151] For software to work, it must be compatible with the operating system.
Therefore, you may not be able to use all existing software if you upgrade to another operating system. Before you upgrade to Windows 8, ask yourself if you have any software on your computer that you can`t live without, and then find out if it`s compatible. The Windows 8 user interface has received negative feedback. Bright wrote that his system of hot corners and edge wipes was “not very obvious” because the operating system did not give instructions for functions accessible through the interface, even via the video tutorial added in the RTM version (which only asked users to point to the corners of the screen or drag its pages). Despite this “stumbling block,” Bright said the Windows 8 UI works well in some places, but feels inconsistent when switching between the “Metro” and the desktop environment, sometimes due to inconsistent means. [173] Tom Warren of The Verge wrote that the new UI was “as amazing as it was surprising” and contributed to an “incredibly personal” experience when personalized by the user, but had a steep learning curve and was cumbersome to use with a keyboard and mouse. He noted that while forcing all users to use the new touch interface was a risky move for Microsoft as a whole, there was a need to boost app development for the Windows Store. [169] Others, such as Adrian Kingsley-Hughes of ZDNet, considered the interface “clunky and impractical” due to its inconsistent design (going so far as to think of it as “two operating systems screwed together unceremoniously”) and concluded that “Windows 8 was not born out of a need or demand; It was born out of Microsoft`s desire to exert its will on the PC industry and decide to shape it in a direction – touch and tablets – that allows it to compete with Apple`s iPad and stay relevant. “[174] The 64-bit variant runs on processors running x86 of the 8. (x86-64 or x64) or later, and can run both 32-bit and 64-bit programs. 32-bit programs and operating systems are limited to supporting only 4 gigabytes of memory, while 64-bit systems can theoretically support 2048 gigabytes of memory. [155] 64-bit operating systems require different device drivers than 32-bit operating systems.
[155] Microsoft released Windows 8.1 in October 2013 and addressed some aspects of Windows 8 that were criticized by reviewers and early adopters, and included additional improvements to various aspects of the operating system. [11] For device and app compatibility, most programs and devices compatible with Windows 7 should work with Windows 8, which is the full Windows 8 operating system, not Windows RT.
