A hot potato: Microsoft will end official support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, potentially turning hundreds of millions of computers into polluting electronic waste. Google has proposed an alternative solution–providing “auto-updating” hardware compatibility via ChromeOS Flex.
Microsoft Windows 10 is about to enter end-of-life status, which could significantly impact the environment. Millions of PCs that are perfectly capable of running Windows 10 but not compatible with Windows 11 could end up in landfills. Google says, “Not do fast.” It urges owners to extend the life of their Win10 machines by converting them to cloud computers.
Companies and consumers alike can avoid security issues by installing Google’s ChromeOS Flex on their not necessarily out-of-date Windows 10 PCs. The cloud-based operating system even auto-updates, providing years of future security patches. Flex is a ChromeOS fork designed for conventional PC hardware and is an ideal replacement for traditional operating systems such as Windows or macOS.
With ChromeOS Flex, Google says, companies and consumers can install a new operating system that will auto-update even after Windows 10 will have stopped providing security patches by the end of the next year. ChromeOS Flex is a ChromeOS fork designed to be installed on conventional PC hardware, as an ideal replacement for traditional operating systems such as Windows or macOS.
Google listed 11 ways its modern, cloud-based operating system can be an excellent replacement for Windows 10. ChromeOS Flex is very secure, with data encryption, automatic updates, and app sandboxing to protect users from malware and other online threats. Google claims ransomware attackers have never compromised the lightweight OS.
ChromeOS Flex is easy to use, especially for anyone familiar with the Chrome browser or Google Workspace. The OS increases productivity with quick boot times without ever experiencing the slowdowns that have always plagued Windows (startup bloat). The system is also easy to manage remotely, thanks to the Google Admin console.
Flex also has support for third-party business applications, at least when it comes to web-based services. “Legacy” Windows applications and productivity suites like Microsoft Office can be streamed from the internet with a “seamless” integration thanks to virtual app delivery. ChromeOS Flex is “flexible” and is certified to run on nearly 600 OEM-branded devices, meaning the cloud OS should work on almost any device deployed in enterprise organizations.
ChromeOS Flex reduces IT support and hardware costs, prevents Windows 10 machines from becoming e-waste, and is energy efficient. The OS is suitable for big or small businesses. However, ChromeOS has never been a particularly popular alternative OS. After 12 years on the market, Google’s platform is now installed on only 1.78 percent of desktop machines surveyed by Statcounter.