There are three times more devices running it now

May 26, 2015 08:03 GMT  ·  By

Windows 10 Mobile is Microsoft's big bet on the mobile market, and according to people close to the matter, the new operating system is projected to see the light of day in October, a few months after the PC sibling goes live for all users.

Preview builds are already up for grabs, and statistics provided by AdDuplex show that the number of users who install these early versions of the mobile operating system on their devices is growing at a really fast pace.

Last month, for example, the number of devices running Windows 10 Mobile tripled, with the new OS version now accounting for 2.3 percent of all Windows Phone handsets.

Nearly 75 percent of devices running WP 8.1

Needless to say, Windows Phone 8.1 is the number one version of Windows Phone currently on the market, with these figures showing that it's installed on 74.2 percent of the devices. Windows Phone 8.0 is still powering some 16 percent of the handsets, while Windows Phone 7.x is running on around 7.5 percent of the devices.

Both Windows Phone 8.0 and 7.x experienced decreases last month, while Windows 10 Mobile increased its share by no less than 1.6 percent.

The fact that so many devices are now running Windows Phone 8.1 is encouraging for Microsoft, as the new Windows 10 Mobile will be offered as a free upgrade for all of them, as long as they're up to date and running the latest OS version.

One of the reasons behind Windows 10 Mobile's share increase is the availability on more Lumia models, as Microsoft previously brought the preview only on a handful of devices. With the latest builds, however, the company has finally allowed more Lumia owners to install Windows 10 Mobile preview, including those who purchased flagships such as 930 and 1520.

A new build of Windows 10 Mobile is expected in the coming weeks, most likely in June, as the company is now getting ready to debut a fresh version of the PC sibling.