Windows 8.1 aimed to address complaints of Windows 8 users and reviewers on launch. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 8.1 on January 9, 2018, and extended support will end on January 10, 2023. A server counterpart was released on October 18, 2013, entitled Windows Server 2012 R2. Windows 8.1 was made available for download via MSDN and Technet and available as a free upgrade for retail copies of Windows 8 and Windows RT users via the Windows Store.
It was Microsoft's operating system for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs and media center PCs until it was succeeded by Windows 10 on July 29, 2015. It was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and broadly released for retail sale on October 17, 2013, about a year after the retail release of its predecessor. Windows 8.1 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft.
