December 2021. It is again that time of the year to review current market-share trends and plan on what to support during the following 12 months.
There are not set rules. Some go by the actually-supported systems as per the companies' schedule, some go by installed user base numbers, some simply keep supporting whatever pays them as their only variable.
In my case, I tend to lean on the user side to choose. I've noticed a clear pattern of supporting Windows versions some years after their official end-of-life date due to the users' keenness to keep them installed.
My educated guess for W7: same as Windows XP and the others before it. After official EOL, a chunk of users cling to their installed system during some more years. They're reluctant to try the new one(s) until "peer pressure" (is it work/market pressure?) convinces them of upgrading their systems... or they simply acquire a new machine as a natural step of life
A short visit to the good ol' Statcounter site reveals the following:
Desktop Windows Version Market Share Worldwide - November 2021
- Win10 82.45%
- Win7 12.76%
- Win8.1 3.16%
- Win8 0.9%
- WinXP 0.5%
- WinVista 0.2%
https://gs.statcount...ws/desktop/worldwideOther sources like Statista have published a longer-term chart:
https://www.statista...system-market-share/Very illustrative I must say. Has it at 14.77% (September).
12-14% is healthy enough to grant one more year!
So, I've decided to support Windows 7 for the whole 2022
Vic
Recent Posts
I have several half-baked ones about to release right now so please ping back after Christmas. I should have published several of the most impending releases for the month by then 
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