14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has pushed really hard for Windows 10 to become a more widely-adopted operating system, and while third-party market share data shows that it lags behind Windows 7, the company itself claims things are exactly the opposite.
In statistics posted on its Windows and Store trends website, the software giant says Windows 10 is currently the number one operating system on the desktop with a share of 46 percent. Windows 7 is the runner-up with 39 percent and declining, while Windows 8.1 is third with 13 percent.
Microsoft says these stats were collected in November 2016 at a time when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update rollout was already finalized. The Anniversary Update first launched in August 2016, but was released to users in stages.
As you can see in the graph provided by the software giant, Windows 10 improved at a really fast pace since its debut in July 2015, but the growth slowed down a little in the last few months, especially because the free upgrade offer is no longer available.
Third-party data
While Microsoft clearly shows that Windows 10 is quite a successful operating system, third-party market research firms claim otherwise, putting Windows 7 at the top of the chart ever since its successor launched.
Specifically, NetMarketShare, which is one of the data providers that Microsoft itself cited several times in the past, claims Windows 7 is running on 48.34 percent of the world’s computers, while Windows 10 is the runner-up with half of that - 24.36 percent. Windows 8.1 is even lower with a market share below Windows XP’s (6.90 percent vs. 9.07 percent).
Windows 10 is projected to receive another major update in just a few months. The so-called Windows 10 Creators Update is due in April, bringing quite a long list of improvements for all supported devices, including here PCs and smartphones.
Microsoft obviously expects the Creators Update to continue improving adoption of Windows 10, but with Windows 7 staying strong these days, it’ll be quite a big challenge to convince users to upgrade before end of support arrives in January 2020.
