Windows 10 EOL Spurs Big Wave Of PC Upgrades And It's Just The Beginning

PC shipments across the globe grew a sizable 8.1% year-over-year in the third quarter of the 2025, driven in large part by a rash of upgrades ahead of Microsoft ending free support for Windows 10, according to Counterpoint Research. Oddly enough, "evolving U.S. import tariff polices" also played a role in PC shipments experiencing healthy growth.

While that may seem counterintuitive on the surface, Counterpoint suggests that "strategic inventory adjustments" related to tariffs were key in the uptick in shipments. However, Windows 10 reaching EOL (end of life) status probably played a bigger role, with both enterprises and consumers scrambling to upgrade aging systems ahead of Microsoft's October deadline.

It's not a one-and-done upgrade cycle, either. According to Counterpoint, nearly 40% of the current PC install base is still powered by Windows 10. As such, the market research firm anticipates that the ongoing replacement cycle will ...