The OS is slowly improving its market share, stats show

Oct 12, 2015 08:47 GMT  ·  By

Windows 10, Microsoft's latest version of its desktop operating system, continues its growth, and according to new data, it keeps gaining users at a slow but steady pace.

Figures provided by StatCounter for the first week of October confirm that Windows 10's ascending trend is maintained, and the operating system has reached a market share of 7.88 percent, which makes it the fifth most-used platform on the desktop right now.

Windows 7 continues to be the king, according to StatCounter data, with a share of 51.69 percent, followed by Windows 8.1, which also maintains its share at 12.91 percent. Windows XP is third despite the fact that it no longer receives updates since April 2014, with 9.31 percent, while OS X is fourth worldwide with 8.77 percent.

Windows 10, on the other hand, is expected to continue going up in the next few weeks and months, especially because it's being offered as a free upgrade to computers running Windows 7 and 8.1. Obviously, its market share will increase as more eligible upgraders install the new OS, and consequently, the share of Windows 7 and 8.1 is expected to drop too.

10 months left to get Windows 10 for free

The free Windows 10 upgrade offer lasts until July 29, 2016, so consumers who are eligible should hurry up and get the new operating system without paying for it as they still can.

Those who aren't running Windows 7 or 8.1 genuine or simply want to get Windows 10 on their computers need to purchase a license, which costs either $119.99 for the Home version or $199.99 for the Pro.

Only consumers are included in the free upgrade offer, so the only versions that are available without a fee are Home and Pro. Enterprises still have to pay for Windows 10, even if they're running genuine Windows 7 or 8.1 on their company computers.