Microsoft itself doesn't even support Windows 7 anymore. Why should Qt 6?
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-...
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-...
Microsoft not-supporting Windows 7 doesn't mean you can't use it. That means it keeps working, you can use it as you always did, but they won't make (and push down your throat) any more patches.
A library/app not-supporting a particular OS/version usually means you actually can't use it. And there often is no serious technical reason.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/extended-secu...
Moreover Microsoft just released .NET 5 with Windows 7 support.
https://github.com/dotnet/core/blob/master/release-notes/5.0...
> The Extended Security Update (ESU) program is a last resort option for customers who need to run certain legacy Microsoft products past the end of support.
Windows 7 is EOL. ESU is meant to run legacy applications for some time after OS EOL. By definition, legacy applications will not use Qt 6.0.
That's not correct, unless you count google chrome (and many other programs) as a legacy application.
I mean when you think about it Microsoft is doing pretty much the same thing during the two periods. It's just that past a certain point they are sure you would have moved on if you could and now they can price gouge you. It's a clever way to do pricing differenciation.
It's pretty clever no matter how you frame it. Deciders get a clear deadline, but once they inevitably run into the deadline completely unprepared they still have a way to get another three years transition period. Everyone is happy, and MS is a bit richer.
Still, I think it makes sense that Qt 6 requires Windows 10. New development and legacy support are always at odds.
If customers want new software, then they must accept that it has modern requirements. Same situation for continued development and evolution of existing software.
In situations where support for legacy systems is more important than new development, then existing applications can just continue to use Qt 5. I don't see how it would make sense to migrate to Qt 6 in this situation.