While the latest stats on Steam show that the number of people using Win11 is growing, current estimates are that there are ~1 billion devices running Win10. When Win10 reaches its end of support [EOL - End Of Life] in 2025 that's going to be a huge problem, because the majority of those devices will not / cannot automatically upgrade to Win11 via Windows Update. In most cases it's possible to use an easy workaround -- download the Win11 ISO & put it on a USB stick using Rufus -- but the majority of Win10 users will not bother with that minor hassle. People like my wife would say: "That's stupid -- my laptop still works fine, so why should I go to all that trouble because the idiots at Microsoft are jerks." Lots of other folks will buy the marketing hype from Microsoft, along with PC & laptop makers, saying that the only cure is to toss your old PC / laptop in the trash and buy a new one. That's guaranteed to make anyone concerned about the environment want to scream. Microsoft knows this, and that they're going to be a big target for lawsuits and government action. So, IMHO anyway, they've started negotiations, throwing out their 1st bid, staking out their position. They will continue to release security-only updates for 3 years to both businesses and individuals, but there will be a cost, to be determined at a later date.
As ZDNET's Ed Bott points out, if there is a cost, enrollment in the program will be cracked, just like it was with Win7. That won't help everyone -- if you didn't want to bother installing WIn11 via Rufus you're less likely to hunt down and use a crack --- but it's a potential lifeline for devices like my 32-bit tablet, that does not have Linux drivers available. And as Neowin points out in an editorial, if Microsoft does charge for Win10 security updates, that will be a HUGE opportunity for scammers.
zdnet[.]com/article/microsoft-offers-extended-support-options-for-windows-10-pcs-for-a-price/
neowin[.]net/editorials/paid-extended-windows-10-support-will-be-a-nightmare-for-consumers/
Meanwhile, there's more news on Windows 12, or whatever Microsoft decides to call it. Qualcomm has a new ARM chip for tablets and laptops that's supposed to rival Apple's CPUs. So far, Windows on ARM has been a bust, so devices using these new CPUs, going on sale next summer, will use the new Windows code base that underlies Win12. Win12 itself will become available next fall, and at that time devices using Qualcomm's new chip will be updated.
As for Win12 itself, there will be changes to the interface for you to love or hate, but again IMHO, if Microsoft couldn't manage to get more performance out of Win11, I doubt that Win12 will see any performance gains. Instead, as they say, follow the money... stock market investors seem to love AI -- it *may* increase ad revenue for Microsoft & Google, while down the road it will probably mean more money from big biz clients hoping to do more with less. So that's where all the hype from Microsoft is focused, on AI, and that very much includes Win12. Most everything you hear or read about Win12 is going to talk about AI. Of course, as with Copilot, reality isn't going to match the hype, but using it will drive an increase in ad revenues.
How that effects the hardware people use isn't yet known. Cell phones are in many cases getting chips that can be used to boost *local* AI, that is AI operations performed strictly on the phone rather than via your connection to whatever servers. AMD and Intel have both added AI-boosting chips to their laptop CPUs, but their focus is on energy savings -- they use less power than CPUs for example, which could increase battery life. They could just as easily add those chips to desktop CPUs, but both Intel & AMD are waiting to see if there's a reason to. Likewise, if it turns out there's a reason to sell add-in cards to boost AI, several companies are ready to put stuff on store shelves.
windowscentral[.]com/software-apps/windows-11/exclusive-microsoft-readies-groundbreaking-ai-focused-windows-release-as-new-leadership-takes-the-helm