Can you still use Windows 8.1 in 2026?

(20 May 2026) And now we reach the finale of the Windows in 2026 series. Windows 8 and 8.1 were quite polarising versions, with many users of 8.1 liking the OS, but many others taking a dislike to what Windows 8 is. 3 years after support dropped for Windows 8.1, how usable is it? Well, I did use this OS for a week around a year ago, to start, and it is actually surprisingly usable the more you look into it, minus a significant chunk of online functionality of Metro apps, in addition to a lack of Steam support. Anyways, this might be my final Windows version in current year video for either a long time or forever, but I want to think about it due to my lack of motivation towards these kinds of videos.

Watch on YouTube

Software used

- Audacity 3.7.7

- Paint.NET 5.1.12

- DaVinci Resolve 20.3.2

Music (in chronological order)

- FynestLyk by Noir Et Blanc Vie, YouTube Audio Library

- Vampire by Emmit Fenn, YouTube Audio Library

- So Long Analog by Noir Et Blanc Vie, YouTube Audio Library

- Puppy Love by Bad Snacks, YouTube Audio Library

Works Cited

- [1] "The History of Windows 8 Development", Michael MJD. YouTube. 20 April 2020, accessed 16 May 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO9Rr4NMG00

- [2] "Windows 8", BetaWiki. Last edited 11 May 2026, accessed 16 May 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_8

- [3] "Windows 8: The official review", Loyd Case, PCWorld. 25 October 2012, accessed 15 May 2026. https://www.pcworld.com/article/461732/windows-8-the-official-review.html

- [4] "Windows 8 review: Aggressively innovative Windows 8 forces a steep learning curve", Seth Rosenblatt, CNET. 15 August 2012, accessed 15 May 2026. https://www.cnet.com/reviews/microsoft-windows-8-pro-upgrade-review/

- [5] "Windows 8: Microsoft's tablet-desktop still painful to swallow", Tim Anderson, The Register. 16 August 2012, accessed 15 May 2026. https://www.theregister.com/software/2012/08/16/windows-8-microsofts-tablet-desktop-still-painful-to-swallow/1276109

- [6] "Windows 8.1: A bit square, sure but WAIT! It has a Start button", Tim Anderson, The Register. 18 October 2013, accessed 15 May 2026. https://www.theregister.com/software/2013/10/18/windows-81-a-bit-square-sure-but-wait-it-has-a-start-button/295054

- [7] "Windows 8.1 review: The great compromise", Brad Chacos, PCWorld. 11 September 2013, accessed 15 May 2026. https://www.pcworld.com/article/447608/windows-8-1-review-the-great-compromise.html

- [8] "Windows 8.1", English Wikipedia. Last edited 15 May 2026, accessed 18 May 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8.1

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- [12] "DDR3 SDRAM", English Wikipedia. Last edited 18 May 2026 02:17 UTC (17 May 2026 22:17 UTC-04:00 Detroit), accessed 18 May 2026 17:17 UTC (13:17 UTC-04:00 Detroit) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR3_SDRAM

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- [15] "FastTracker 2", English Wikipedia. Last edited 17 March 2026, accessed 18 May 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastTracker_2

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- [18] "OpenMPT", English Wikipedia. Last edited 16 April 2026, accessed 18 May 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenMPT

- [19] "Windows 8.1 build 9600.17238", BetaWiki. Last edited 1 August 2025, accessed 18 May 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_8.1_build_9600.17238

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- [21] "Windows 8.1", BetaWiki. Last edited 1 May 2026, accessed 19 May 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_8.1

Media used

- ASUS_Transformer_Book_T100.jpg by Cheon Fong Liew, CC BY-SA 2.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 - via Wikimedia Commons

- Lenovo_ThinkPad_Helix_(15060746209).jpg by Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

- The_Register_logo.svg.png - Vectorised by VulcanSphere from https://www.theregister.com/design_picker/fa16d26efb42e6ba1052f1d387470f643c5aa18d/graphics/std/reg_logo_no_strapline.svg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67227482

- ThinkPad_X230_(8731003416).jpg by TAKA@P.P.R.S, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

- VMware_Workstation_Player_Icon.png By Mmatej16 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

- Windows_7_Logo_and_Wordmark.svg.png By https://betawiki.net/wiki/File:Windows_7.svg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73545020

- Windows_8_Launch_-_Steve_Ballmer.jpg by Dell Inc., CC BY 2.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 - via Wikimedia Commons