Intel Clover Trail PCs will never get Windows 10 Creators Update

[HEXUS]

It's not just a temporary blip. However, Microsoft will offer security updates until 2023.

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[Lorcaran]

This seems a little unfair without explaining the reasons why but I can understand it. I also see this occurring even more in the future if Microsoft continues with Windows 10 as the last version of windows. Otherwise you will be supporting hardware configurations for ever, imagine trying to run Windows 7 on a Pentium P60 with 4Mb of RAM.

Even still though seems a bit off offering upgrades and then killing support, it's not like the creators update added that much that much anyway.

[Corky34]

At least we now know what "supported lifetime of the device" means, it's dependent on the hardware vendors life cycle, something like 3 years.

[shaithis]

Aren't all those 32bit? Probably the most likely explanation.

[Corky34]

I think it was more to do with the iGPU, IIRC they use a similar iGPU as one of the iPhones.

[Kanoe]

Just checked my 2 in 1 and its a Bay Trail Atom, phew!

[HollyDOL]

Well, it sucks, but it's not like there would be possibility to upgrade 7 years old phone (ref. to 2023 date) to the latest Android either. At least they'll be getting bugfix updates.

[TheAnimus]

Aren't all those 32bit? Probably the most likely explanation.

Yup a 5 year old atom that can only do x86 instructions.

It must be a heck of a lot easier to optimize only for 64 bit.

[3s-gtech]

Yet plenty of 8-9 year old PCs with desktop CPUs run 10 without driver issues (I've tested a Core 2 powered Lenovo M58P, my Lenovo x100e, and many others). Clover Trail was poor, Bay Trail was far superior. The issue with CT powered machines and 64 bit was often the UEFI implementation - for example the early Asus T100 had a 64 bit CPU but couldn't run Windows 64 bit. Stupid.

[excalibur1814]

Blame Intel. They need to support the darn xpu/iGpu

[LSG501]

Pretty sure I read elsewhere it's basically down to intel ending support for the cpu/gpu and as such aren't supplying up to date drivers etc which then impacts MS and everyone else further down the line.

It's not the first time MS have 'changed requirements' half way through a new OS, my x2 s939 cpu's weren't supported in windows 8.1 (some security aspect) but they were still more than capable of running the OS, MS just didn't want to support them by allowing them to use the old security feature they 'updated' in 8.1.

I'm fully expecting this to happen every couple of years now because Intel will want us to buy new hardware on a regular basis and MS will likely require a new OS to be purchased too etc to keep their cash incoming even if the hardware is more than good enough to run everything.

Hell I'm seeing domestic routers with subscription services coming out for some daft reason and I wouldn't be surprised to see a push towards 'leasing' pc's soon too because clearly using pc equipment until it's no longer good enough won't be allowed (not saying clover trail was good, it wasn't lol).

[kingpotnoodle]

Obsolete old chip in mobile device means that latest OS not supported, sounds awfully like iOS 11 and the iPhone 5. I'm not at all surprised, the same thing happens with Android ROMs and older SOCs with no driver support from the vendor. I'll bet it's the PowerVR GPU that's killing the support.

This is today's world, where devices are quickly left to die as soon as they can be considered obsolete, 3-4 years OS updates isn't that bad and a lot more than many phones get. Security coverage until 2023 is probably longer than most of the devices will continue to operate.

I don't think Microsoft are too wrong here, it costs a lot of time to keep supporting niche requirements, as a % of the Windows user base the number of people with a CloverTrail tablet who want to update past Windows 10 Anniversary is probably tiny.

[azrael-]

People seem to forget, that not only does that mean, that the device will not get the Creators Update (which of course Windows will only find out *after* having downloaded 3+GB), but since at one point the Creators Update will be a pre-requisite to getting any (security) update, said device will at one point never see any new update at all.

[Corky34]

To be fair they have said after all the nagging, cajoling, scaring, threatening and pushing Windows 10 on customers that they're going issue security update until the EOS for customers who "upgraded" from Windows 8.1

[azrael-]

Doesn't help when the pre-requisite for said security updates is a version of Windows you cannot install.

It's a bit like those people who couldn't upgrade from (64 bit) Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 because their processor didn't support CMPXCHG16b. And then Microsoft required Windows 8.1 to continue receiving updates.

[Kato-2]

This has nothing to do with the CPU, the Clover Trail systems used a PowerVR GPU. The drivers for PowerVR hardware under Windows are in a very sorry state and ImgTech have no intention of updating them unless they get paid by Intel. Intel wont pay so forced MS hand in cutting support.