Microsoft Corp’s plan to end support for its Windows 10 operating system could result in about 240 million personal computers (PCs) being disposed of, potentially adding to landfill waste. The electronic waste from these PCs — including hard drives, memory chips, and motherboards — would weigh an estimated 480 million kilograms, equivalent to 320,000 cars, according to research firm Canalys Research. The PCs in question lack the hardware requirements to run Microsoft’s newest OS, Windows 11, and are unlikely to receive software and security updates. Hundreds of millions of them will be relegated to the scrapheap, says Canalys.
The resulting e-waste highlights the need for device manufacturers and OS vendors to embed durability, repairability, and recyclability into their products, the researcher said. In a circular economy, these design features are essential to ensure devices are not discarded prematurely but given second lives through repair, redeployment, refurbishing, and reselling, it added. Catalyst analysis found that in the two years until Microsoft ends support for Windows 10, about a fifth of the current PC base will become obsolete due to incompatibility with Windows 11. It added that if folded together, these PCs would form a pile 600km taller than the moon.
While many of these PCs could remain functional for years after the end of OS support, demand for devices without security updates is likely to be minimal — even for companies with tight IT budgets. Moreover, donating these devices to disadvantaged communities is not a viable or socially sustainable solution to bridging the digital divide.
Canalys expects the PC market to return to growth in 2024 as customers refresh pandemic-era machines and new AI-capable devices enter the market. However, the availability of new operating systems may limit the channel’s growing capabilities for PC refurbishment and reselling.
The PC industry needs help to keep up with the rapidly changing demand for digital technologies and services, which have shifted to streaming media and the Internet of Things, or IoT, in which everyday objects are connected to the Internet and can be controlled remotely. In addition to PCs, IoT technology includes mobile phones, wearable devices, and home appliances.
The move to end Windows 10 support is the latest in a series of high-profile moves by Microsoft to defend its monopoly on personal computer operating systems. In June, the company asked the Supreme Court to throw out a ruling that it broke U.S. antitrust laws by bullying computer makers and stifling innovation to hold on to its dominance of the market for low-end PC operating systems. The case is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 21. It will begin determining how the company should be punished. Microsoft also faces a separate lawsuit from Sun Microsystems, alleging it used illegal tactics to maintain its PC operating system monopoly and stifle competition in the market for server operating systems.