Apple claims its software powers 1.5 billion devices

Jan 31, 2020 18:32 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft claims the Windows 10 install base has reached 1 billion devices after the company originally announced 90 million active Windows 10 users back in September.

The figure comes only a few days after Apple praised the adoption of its operating systems, revealing that its software is now powering 1.5 billion devices worldwide.

Microsoft has long bragged about having 1.5 billion Windows computers out there, so this new milestone announced today is supposed to show that the adoption of Windows is improving, presumably exceeding the 1.5 billion unit milestone.

The updated figure was published on an Italian Microsoft website and is likely to be accurate given the company last announced 900 million devices nearly five months ago.

Windows 10 adoption skyrocketing

Furthermore, the Windows 10 adoption has most likely improved in the last couple of years thanks to the retirement of Windows 7. The 2009 operating system reached the end of support on January 14, and a significant number of devices were upgraded to Windows 10, with the migration expected to continue in the coming months.

Microsoft is also pushing for both home users and enterprises to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10, warning of major security risks should they continue to run outdated software.

Apple’s figures, on the other hand, include not only iPhones, but also iPads, and Macs, so at first glance, Microsoft’s achievement is bigger news since the 1 billion milestone only concerns Windows 10.

But at the same time, it’s worth reminding that Microsoft itself decided to streamline its product offering by giving up on Windows 10 Mobile, the mobile platform which at one point was considered a potential alternative to iOS. Microsoft originally included the devices running Windows 10 Mobile in the overall Windows 10 install base, but the mobile operating system has since been abandoned entirely.