Friday, July 21st 2017
Intel Clover Trail-based Systems Won't Receive Creators Update - Ever
We recently covered how users with systems powered by Intel's Clover Trail CPUs were having issues with a "Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC" error when trying to update their machines to Microsoft's latest Windows 10 Creators Update. The systems in question - built around Intel's Clover Trail Atom processors - are generally low-cost, low-power machines (mainly 2-in-1) released between 2012 and 2015 under Windows 8 and 8.1. These systems were deemed ready to receive Windows 10; however, now it looks as if they won't ever be able to support it.
In our last piece, we wondered if this problem was only temporary; now it seems it's permanent. Microsoft has however announced that Clover Trail-based systems will still receive security updates (just not feature updates) until 2023. The issue seems to lay with Clover Trail's integrated GPU drivers; Clover Trail Atoms use GPU technology licensed from Imagination Technologies. Ars Technica's Peter Bright says that "Imagination appears unwilling, and Intel appears unable, to update the GPU drivers to meet the demands of the Creators Update. So systems built with such hardware will never be upgradable beyond the Anniversary Update."The question, however, is that while the Anniversary Edition includes Microsoft's LTSB (Long-Term Servicing Branch version) which enables these security update fixes in the long term, the Creator's Update doesn't - its support is strictly limited to 18 months post update. What will happen if some machines that were recently upgraded to the Creator's Update fail to support Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Update? Will they stop being supported and receive neither feature nor security updates after 18 months have passed? Hardware obsolescence is a real thing, but it looks as if Microsoft is accelerating the pace at which older hardware ceases being useful - all thanks to Windows 10's "OS as a service" ethos.
In our last piece, we wondered if this problem was only temporary; now it seems it's permanent. Microsoft has however announced that Clover Trail-based systems will still receive security updates (just not feature updates) until 2023. The issue seems to lay with Clover Trail's integrated GPU drivers; Clover Trail Atoms use GPU technology licensed from Imagination Technologies. Ars Technica's Peter Bright says that "Imagination appears unwilling, and Intel appears unable, to update the GPU drivers to meet the demands of the Creators Update. So systems built with such hardware will never be upgradable beyond the Anniversary Update."The question, however, is that while the Anniversary Edition includes Microsoft's LTSB (Long-Term Servicing Branch version) which enables these security update fixes in the long term, the Creator's Update doesn't - its support is strictly limited to 18 months post update. What will happen if some machines that were recently upgraded to the Creator's Update fail to support Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Update? Will they stop being supported and receive neither feature nor security updates after 18 months have passed? Hardware obsolescence is a real thing, but it looks as if Microsoft is accelerating the pace at which older hardware ceases being useful - all thanks to Windows 10's "OS as a service" ethos.