AMD’s new Zen 5 mobile architecture, known as Strix Point, has been officially confirmed to not support Windows 10. This was initially rumored last month, but with the official launch of Strix Point with the Ryzen AI 9 300 series CPUs, the lack of support for Windows 10 is now confirmed.
This move by AMD places another nail in the coffin for Windows 10, especially considering Microsoft’s recent announcement about expanding beta testing for Windows 10. It remains unclear whether Microsoft will stick to its late-2025 deadline for ending support for Windows 10, which is still being used by up to 70% of Windows users.
The product pages for the two CPUs that make up the new Zen 5 mobile CPU family, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and Ryzen AI 9 365 CPUs, list OS support as including Windows 11 64-bit only (and Ubuntu). These CPUs are designed for AI, thanks to their neural processing unit (NPU) with up to 50 TOPS performance ceiling. It makes sense that they would only come in new laptops with Windows 11 instead of an affordable, third-party laptop with Windows 10.
While all this is happening, Microsoft has added a second insider channel for Windows 10 features to be sampled by testers. This raises questions about whether Windows 10 will still be sent out to pasture on the pre-determined date of October 14, 2025. Microsoft has announced that people can pay for security updates to extend Windows 10’s lifespan by an additional three years, but that price is still TBD.
Read more: www.extremetech.com