It’s no secret that Microsoft never hesitates to use questionable tactics to get people to use some of its products, but in spite of the fact that this is the case the tech giant’s recent attempts at promoting Windows 11 might have crossed a line. A number of users took to Reddit to complain about full screen banner ads that they were seeing which urged them to upgrade their OS to Windows 11.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that both of the options that are visible in this ad are essential just variations of “yes”. Users can either opt to upgrade the OS now or schedule the update for a later date. On the off chance that a user might want to stick with their current operating system such as Windows 10, they will have to do a bit of searching to find the tiny Keep Windows 10 option on the white bar below.
Making both options different versions of the same thing has made this marketing attempt less palatable than might have been the case otherwise. Many are upset by this banner because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up coming up without warning and not allowing them to get any work done.
18% of Windows users have already upgraded to Windows 11, but Microsoft clearly wants to speed things up with all things having been considered and taken into account. Banners like these may just alienate users from the company since they would want to be able to make the upgrade on their own terms.
What makes things worse is that there is no real way to prevent the banner from popping up. It is quite a disruptive form of advertising, not to mention the fact that it uses optical illusions to essentially trick users into making the upgrade. Microsoft needs to do better, because depriving users of choice is a cardinal sin in the tech industry that can be quite hard to come back from.
Read next: Microsoft Allows Employees to Use ChatGPT, but There’s a Catch
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that both of the options that are visible in this ad are essential just variations of “yes”. Users can either opt to upgrade the OS now or schedule the update for a later date. On the off chance that a user might want to stick with their current operating system such as Windows 10, they will have to do a bit of searching to find the tiny Keep Windows 10 option on the white bar below.
Making both options different versions of the same thing has made this marketing attempt less palatable than might have been the case otherwise. Many are upset by this banner because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up coming up without warning and not allowing them to get any work done.
18% of Windows users have already upgraded to Windows 11, but Microsoft clearly wants to speed things up with all things having been considered and taken into account. Banners like these may just alienate users from the company since they would want to be able to make the upgrade on their own terms.
What makes things worse is that there is no real way to prevent the banner from popping up. It is quite a disruptive form of advertising, not to mention the fact that it uses optical illusions to essentially trick users into making the upgrade. Microsoft needs to do better, because depriving users of choice is a cardinal sin in the tech industry that can be quite hard to come back from.
Read next: Microsoft Allows Employees to Use ChatGPT, but There’s a Catch
