Microsoft announced an upgraded support policy for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers in which the company details support for next silicon generations such as Intel's Kaby Lake, Qualcomm's 8996 or AMD's Bristol Ridge.
In essence, devices with these processors will not be supported by previous versions of the Windows operating system but only by the "latest", which at the time of writing is Windows 10.
There you have it, another thumbscrew for Windows customers who prefer previous versions of Windows over the current version.
Obviously, there is justification for the policy change:
Windows 7 was designed nearly 10 years ago before any x86/x64 SOCs existed. For Windows 7 to run on any modern silicon, device drivers and firmware need to emulate Windows 7’s expectations for interrupt processing, bus support, and power states- which is challenging for WiFi, graphics, security, and more. As partners make customizations to legacy device drivers, services, and firmware settings, customers are likely to see regressions with Windows 7 ongoing servicing.
While Microsoft mentions Windows 7 explicitly, it makes no mention as to why it is limiting support on Windows 8.1.
