Microsoft is finally rolling out the process of killing support for 32-bit systems on future Windows 10 devices beginning with the next version of Windows 10’s May 2020 Update (version 2004).
For those unaware, Windows 10 operating system can run on both 32-bit and 64-bit processor architectures. While 32-bit processors are perfectly capable of handling a limited amount of RAM, 64-bit processors can handle more data at once and are capable of storing more computational values, including memory addresses, as compared to the 32-bit based CPU.
As a result, there is more demand for Windows 10 64-bit version and hence, most modern PCs are shipped with a 64-bit version of Windows 10. With an increase in demand for Windows 10 64-bit version devices, Microsoft has decided to phase out 32-bit support for future devices.
Starting with Windows 10 2004, new OEM computers will be required to use 64-bit builds of the operating system. Further, Microsoft will still support users with the 32-bit version of the OS but it would not offer Windows 10 May 2020 Update to OEMs for their 32-bit machines. However, both security and feature updates will be delivered on 32-bit systems.
“Beginning with Windows 10, version 2004, all new Windows 10 systems will be required to use 64-bit builds and Microsoft will no longer release 32-bit builds for OEM distribution. This does not impact 32-bit customer systems that are manufactured with earlier versions of Windows 10; Microsoft remains committed to providing feature and security updates on these devices, including continued 32-bit media availability in non-OEM channels to support various upgrade installation scenarios,” reads the update mentioned on the Minimum Hardware Requirements documentation.
Microsoft is expected to start rolling out Windows 10’s May 2020 Update (version 2004) out in the last week of May.
