14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system has lost market share in April 2020, with macOS apparently the top name to benefit from this decline.
Windows 10 is already the number one desktop operating system worldwide, with more than 1 in 2 PCs currently running it. And while the market share of Windows 10 is expected to grow, especially after Microsoft retired Windows 7 and more devices are upgraded to the new release, this isn’t what happened last month.
NetMarketShare data indicates that Windows 10 actually dropped in April from 57.34% to 56.08%, while macOS actually improved from 3.41% to 4.15%.
New Windows 10 feature update
Windows 7, on the other hand, declined to 25.59%, which is something that makes total sense given it no longer receives updates and security patches. As a result, users are recommended to upgrade their devices to a Windows version that still gets updates, such as Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, as security flaws found in Windows 7 would just remain unpatched.
Meanwhile, Windows 10 continues to be the preferred choice for most people in the Windows ecosystem, albeit 1 in 4 PCs running Windows 7 is something that should be concerning in the short term.
Security experts have warned that the number of exploits aimed at Windows 7 devices is growing, also as a result of the shared code with newer Windows and which expose devices to potential attacks.
Needless to say, Windows 10 is Microsoft’s recommended choice for everybody still on Windows 7, but for now, it’s very clear that not everyone is willing to make the move. Without a doubt, Windows 7 has become the new Windows XP, as the same thing happened in 2014 when Microsoft retired the 2001 operating system.
For what it’s worth, Windows XP still has a market share of 1.32% more than six years after its retirement.