Microsoft’s modern OS was released to manufacturing in August 2012

Aug 22, 2014 11:52 GMT  ·  By

Windows 8 reached the very important RTM phase of development in August 2012, and everyone at Microsoft was very excited since a brand new operating system was about to hit the shelves with lots of new features expected to appeal to both desktops and tablets.

Windows 8 was more of an experiment and soon after that, it was truly clear that this new operating system was failing, with adoption in the very first months reminding of Windows Vista.

In fact, many called Windows 8 “the new Vista,” pretty much because of the low adoption numbers which indicated that not so many users as initially projected were actually ready to switch to an operating system that’s half aimed at PCs and half at tablets.

Fast forward to this day and Windows 8 is still performing below expectations, even though Microsoft has poured millions of dollars in marketing campaigns supposed to show people how great its operating system actually is on both PCs and tablets.

“It’s just like Windows 7, but better,” Microsoft said, trying to explain that even though a Start menu wasn’t included at first, all the other traditional features are there.

Trying to fight confusion and address many of users’ complaints, Microsoft rolled out two important updates for Windows 8, namely 8.1 and 8.1 Update, both of which made the desktop feel a bit more familiar to beginners.

And still, statistics show that Windows 8’s current uptake is still low. StatCounter data for the month of August reveals that Windows 8 is now installed on 7.37 percent of the desktop computers worldwide, while Windows 8.1 is powering 8.14 percent. Overall, the core modern OS has a market share of 15.51 percent, not really impressive given the fact that nearly two years have passed since launch.

Market researcher Net Applications provides figures that are very similar, with Windows 8 currently at 5.92 percent, while Windows 8.1 is said to be installed on 6.56 percent of the desktop computers worldwide. Windows 8 thus has a combined share of 12.48 percent, still below what people and everyone else expected to see before the public launch.

Windows 8 was a flop, that’s for sure, and now all eyes are on Windows 9, as both users and Microsoft hope to address all complaints in this OS release.

Windows 9 is expected to come with a modern Start menu, but also with lots of new options, including a desktop version of Cortana, Internet Explorer 12, and even multiple desktops for improved productivity.