Microsoft Promises to Support Surface RT for 4+ Years

Microsoft will support its Surface RT tablet with updates, including security patches, until April 2017, or nearly four-and-a-half years after its launch. The support lifecycle for the Surface with Windows RT tablet is less than half the usual 10 years Microsoft allots its software products - including Windows 8 - but is considerably longer than what Apple has given the first-generation iPad, which has already dropped off.

Microsoft will support the Surface RT only in the "Mainstream" support phase, presumably because it's considered a consumer product. The company typically supports consumer - grade software only during that five - year period; all business software, as well as some titles that are designed for consumers, such as Office Home and Student 2010, receive another five-year stretch, called "Extended" support, for a total of 10 years.