Microsoft extends support for Intel Skylake in Windows 7 and 8.1

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are still popular and used by the user and consumer business and therefore did not fail to surprise the decision announced by Microsoft earlier this year under which it was confirmed that the latest processors and Intel chipsets Skylake, after the month of July 2017, were only supported by Windows 10. Microsoft, simultaneously, it provided a list of supported devices Skylake.

A choice that has displaced, because Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 which still lie in the extended support phase (beyond 2017), ie a status which, while leaving unchanged the operating system from the functionality point of view, gives the opportunity to receive security updates. As a result of the lack of support, after the month of July 2017, some incompatible patch (or source of problems and instability) with Skylake systems would be excluded from security updates.

The status quo just described has recently changed following the extension of full support to Intel Skylake systems Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 until July 2018. Another year to allow first companies to manage the process of renewal of fleet. The Microsoft confirmed in a post on the Technet blog

To help provide greater flexibility for customers who have Windows 10 times longer implementation, the support period for Windows 78 and Windows 8.1 devices with Intel Skylake will be extended by one year from 17 July 2017 al 17 July 2018

In addition, after July 2018, all critical security updates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be directed to Skylake systems until the end of extended support for Windows 7, January 14, 2020, and Windows 8.1, 10 January 2023

Extended support, and full support, therefore, without exclusion of any patch that covers critical security updates for the two versions of Windows. A measure which, according to the purpose followed by Microsoft was introduced to "help our customers to purchase existing hardware with confidence, while continuing to manage the migration to Windows 10"