14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft still struggles to exceed the 700 million active devices running Windows 10 mark, as the adoption of the operating system has slowed down.
This is mostly the result of the Windows 7 exodus not reaching full speed, Microsoft says, with the company expecting the transition to Windows 10 to accelerate in the coming months as we approach the January 2020 end-of-support date for the 2009 operating system.
Microsoft announced that Windows 10 was running on 600 million devices back in November 2017, while at Build this year the firm says that it’s getting closer to 700 million active installs.
But as it turns out, this is exactly where Windows 10 still is right now, with CEO Satya Nadella revealing during an analyst call following Microsoft’s earnings report this morning that the OS is close to 700 million active installs.
The Windows 7 problem
According to a report from ZDNet, Windows 10 not reaching its full potential is the result of people holding on to Windows 7. Microsoft is projected to pull the plug on Windows 7 in January 2020, so the software giant expects the number of devices upgraded to Windows 10 to increase as we get closer to this deadline.
Right now, Windows 7 is the world’s number one desktop operating system with a share over 43 percent, according to third-party data, while Windows 10 is the runner-up with approximately 34 percent. This means that there still are a lot of devices to be upgraded to Windows 10, and as we advance towards the Windows 7 EOL date, the number of systems making the switch should increase substantially.
On the other hand, Microsoft is also afraid that Windows 7 could become the new Windows XP, with users refusing to switch despite the end of support.
Windows XP is still around these days with a share of nearly 4 percent, despite no longer getting security updates since April 2014.