14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft said that 300 million devices were running Windows 10 last month, and new market share data provided by Net Applications confirms that the new operating system is indeed growing bigger these days.
But at the same, Windows 7 just doesn’t seem to give up, so while it has lost some users in the last few months, mostly because they have moved to Windows 10, the operating system has switched back to growing once again.
Specifically, Windows 7 is currently the leading desktop OS worldwide with a share of 48.57 percent, up from 47.82 percent the month before. This means Windows 7 increased by 0.75 points in just one month, despite Microsoft’s push for Windows 10 upgrades.
And speaking of Windows 10, this is currently the second desktop OS in the charts with 17.43 percent, up from 15.34 percent in April. Windows 10 thus grew no less than 2.09 percent in May, which is one of the biggest increases the operating system has recorded in 2016.
Windows XP remains shockingly popular
Windows XP is another tough nut to crack for Microsoft, and while it does lose users, it’s still holding tight to its market share. Windows XP dropped from 10.63 percent in April to 10.09 percent last month, so more than 1 in 10 PCs are still running an operating system that was discontinued nearly two years ago.
Overall, it’s been a good month for Windows 10, which manages to close the gap between it and Windows 7 and strengthen its position as the second most used desktop operating system in the world. The chances are that Windows 10 will continue to improve its share in the coming months while more users would give up on Windows 7 to benefit from the free upgrade offer to the new OS.
Microsoft ends the free upgrade window on July 29, so the next couple of months will play a key role in the future of Windows 10 in the consumer market. Windows 7 still receives support until January 2020, so it’ll be very difficult for Microsoft to convince everyone to upgrade to Windows 10.