SECTION GuidesSUBJECT ExplainersPUBLISHED Aug 6, 2026READ TIME 7 MIN
Reference Guide / Strong
How Long a New Laptop Will Actually Receive Security Updates
There is no single 'five-year laptop.' Windows 11 Home and Pro versions are serviced for 24 months each; you must keep taking feature updates. Windows 10's free security updates ended 14 October 2025. Apple currently patches the latest macOS and the two previous. Chromebooks publish a 10-year auto-update window from the platform date. The hardware is not the same clock as the OS.
CCBy Culture Column EditorialPublished Aug 6, 2026
The argument
Software support is an operating-system policy, not a chassis promise. Microsoft services each Windows 11 Home and Pro version for 24 months from that version's release (36 months for Enterprise and Education). Remaining on an expired version means no monthly security updates even if the laptop is new. Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025; paid Extended Security Updates run only through 12 October 2027 for eligible 22H2 PCs. Apple does not publish a year count; as of August 2026 it is issuing security updates for macOS Tahoe 26, Sequoia 15, and Sonoma 14, the familiar current-plus-two pattern, and a Mac drops off when it cannot run the oldest still-patched system. Google states ChromeOS devices receive 10 years of automatic updates from the platform release date. Buyers should read that clock, plus whether the hardware can run the next OS, not the marketing line 'built to last.'
The question
What this page answers
If I buy a laptop this year, how many years of security updates should I actually expect before the machine becomes a liability?
The points
What to take from this
01
Windows 11 Home/Pro: 24 months of servicing per annual version. You stay supported by installing the next version before the current one ends. Enterprise/Education: 36 months.
02
Windows 10: end of support 14 October 2025. PCs still boot. They do not get free security updates. ESU is a paid bridge through 12 October 2027 for eligible 22H2 devices.
03
Apple: watch which macOS versions still appear on the security-releases page. In August 2026 that is three generations. Hardware support ends when the Mac cannot run the oldest of those.
04
Chromebooks: Google's published policy is 10 years of auto-updates from the platform release date. Look up the specific model's AUE date before you buy used.
People shop laptops as if the metal and the operating system shared a birthday. They do not. The hinge can outlast the last security patch. The patch clock is a vendor policy you can look up. Microsoft publishes servicing months per Windows version. Apple shows, in public, which macOS generations still get fixes. Google prints an auto-update expiration date per Chromebook platform. A four-year warranty on the battery is a different document.
If you are reading this in 2026 with a Windows 10 machine that still 'works,' Microsoft's own end-of-support page is the relevant news: it works, and it is no longer getting free security updates as of 14 October 2025.
FIG. 01The clocks, as the vendors state them
Platform
What 'supported' means
How a laptop falls off
Windows 11 Home / Pro
Each annual version: 24 months of monthly quality updates
You skip feature updates until the version's end-of-updates date. The PC can be two years old and already unsupported. Stay current and the same hardware can keep going until it cannot run a future Windows 11.
Windows 11 Enterprise / Education
36 months per version
Same rule, longer fuse. Still not 'this chassis is patched until 2032' unless IT keeps moving versions.
Windows 10
End of support 14 October 2025
Already off the free train. Paid ESU for eligible 22H2 PCs through 12 October 2027, security-only.
macOS
Apple's security-releases list; in August 2026, three major versions
A Mac that cannot install the oldest still-patched macOS stops getting those updates. There is no single published year count per model on the security page.
ChromeOS
10 years of automatic updates from the platform release date
Look up the model's AUE date. After that, the device may still boot in a verified state; Google says policies and support will not work as intended.
FIG. 02
Windows 10's actual calendar
14 October 2025Windows 10 end of support
Microsoft: no technical support, no feature updates, no regular security updates. The PC continues to function.
Through 12 October 2027Paid Extended Security Updates
Critical and important security updates for enrolled Windows 10 22H2 devices. Not new features. Not a helpdesk. Microsoft's consumer ESU page says you can enroll until the program ends.
13 October 2026Example: Windows 11 24H2 Home/Pro
Microsoft's release-information table: end of updates for Home/Pro on 2026-10-13. If you never took 25H2, a 'new' 24H2 laptop is about to leave servicing.
Microsoft Windows 10 end-of-support pages; Windows 11 release information; ESU program page.
Hardware gates are the second clock. Windows 11 has CPU, TPM, and Secure Boot requirements that left a large pile of otherwise fine Windows 10 PCs behind. A buyer in 2026 should confirm the laptop ships with a currently serviced Windows 11 version and a CPU Microsoft still allows on the next one. Apple's gate is quieter: each autumn, some Macs drop off the new macOS, then they live on the previous version until that version leaves the three-deep security list.
Chromebooks are the most honest consumer label in this set, because Google publishes the expiration with the platform. Ten years from platform release is long. A three-year-old used Chromebook may have seven years left or two. The AUE date is the spec. 'Chromebooks get long support' is not.
Linux can extend a machine's life if you will maintain it. It is not a Microsoft or Apple promise. Firmware and Wi-Fi drivers still age. Treat Linux as a plan, not as a hidden clause in a Windows SKU.
How to decide whether a device needs replacing is the broader hardware page. How to make software updates routine is the habit. This page is only the vendor calendars so you stop asking a five-year-old marketing sentence to do the work of a lifecycle table.
In short
Read the OS clock
01
Windows: stay on a version that still has a future end-of-updates date. 24 months Home/Pro per version.
02
Windows 10 is already past free support. ESU is a paid, dated bridge.
03
Apple: three macOS generations in the security list, as of August 2026. Chromebooks: 10-year AUE from platform date.
The questions
Questions
01
Does a three-year manufacturer warranty mean three years of Windows updates?
No. Warranty is parts and labor. Updates are the OS vendor. They can end on different days.
02
If I never connect to the internet, can I keep Windows 10?
Air-gapped machines are a specialist setup. A normal home laptop that checks email is on the internet. Microsoft's warning about malware risk applies.
03
Will Apple say how many years my new MacBook gets?
Not as a single guaranteed integer on the security-releases page. Infer from which models can install the current macOS, and assume you want hardware that can take the next two after that.
Windows 11 versions release once per year. Home/Pro (and related) servicing: 24 months. Enterprise/Education/IoT Enterprise: 36 months. Customers must install the latest version before the current one reaches end of servicing to remain supported.
Windows 10 end of support 14 October 2025: no technical support, feature updates, or security updates. PCs continue to function. ESU program available for eligible devices.
ESU provides critical and important security updates for eligible Windows 10 22H2 PCs. Program ends 12 October 2027. Not feature updates, not technical support.
As of 6 August 2026, security updates listed for macOS Tahoe 26.6.1, Sequoia 15.7.9, and Sonoma 14.8.9: current plus two previous major releases. Apple does not state a fixed year guarantee for a given Mac model on this page.
ChromeOS devices receive 10 years of updates from the platform release date. Google publishes AUE dates so buyers can check before purchase. After the final automatic update, policies and support may not work as intended.
Microsoft's Windows 11 install floor is 4 GB. Copilot+ PCs require 16 GB. Apple's current M5 MacBook Air starts at 16 GB of unified memory, soldered. The marketed 8 GB 'everyday' machine is the one that starts swapping when the browser, a meeting app, and a document are open together. Buy 16 GB unless you have a specific reason not to, and 32 GB if you run VMs or heavy creative tools. You probably cannot add RAM later.
