Nearly 80% of businesses and 70% of consumers plan to refresh their PC portfolio by the end of 2025—or so says Microsoft.

Just a few days ago, security researchers warned hundreds of millions of Windows users they’re at risk from a “ dangerous security fiasco .” Microsoft has now confirmed the same, proclaiming 2025 “the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh.” And for 400 million users in particular, that means hitting the stores before it’s too late.

Last January at CES, Microsoft chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi declared 2024 the “year of the AI PC.” And whether you believe that prediction came true or not—many new PCs come with AI-accelerating neural processing units onboard, but far from all of them—you can't deny that Microsoft did try very hard to make it happen.

Now that Microsoft's "year of the AI PC," – or 2024, as it's better known – is over, the company has declared that 2025 really should

Microsoft has confirmed an unusual warning for Windows users updating their PCs. If you make a simple mistake, your PC “might remain in a state where it cannot accept further Windows security updates.” Bad news, especially as it will clearly be confusing if and when it happens.