The latest data shows that Windows 10 continues to be a more popular operating system than its successor, which is becoming a serious headache for Microsoft. It is true that the new version is gaining ground, but it is still far from reaching the performance of its predecessor.
We all know that Microsoft's path with Windows 11 has not been easy. It's been a long time since a version of Windows has had so many difficulties in establishing itself in the market. And, for the moment, the situation is improving, although more slowly than Microsoft would like. We can see this in the data published by Neowin, which takes as a reference the Windows usage index provided by Statcounter.
What is the current situation?
At the moment, the difference between the two operating systems is still drastic. 60.95% of people are using Windows 10, an operating system that, as you may have heard, will end its active support period in 2025 and will require a payment to continue it a little longer. Meanwhile, Windows 11 reaches a total of 35.55% of users. Between both versions of Windows there is still an extreme margin that does not speak well of either the situation or the work that Microsoft is doing to get the community to make the jump to its new version.
The only positive thing, albeit at a very low level, is that compared to the last analysis, there has been a drop in the number of Windows 10 users and an increase in Windows 11 users. But the change is so small that it is obvious that we are still far from witnessing the generational change that Microsoft has been dreaming of seeing for so long. Thus, the loss of Windows 10 has been only 1.8%, while the improvement of Windows 11 has been established at 2.13%.
Twice as many users on Windows 10
Today, the data is clear and it is true that we are talking about twice as many people using Windows 10 while Windows 11 remains in a secondary role. The community has not stopped criticizing Microsoft for some of its decisions and it is believed that the move from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is not, in fact, organic. There is more talk about how it is very possible that a good percentage of these new Windows 11 users are people who have bought a new computer because their old one has become obsolete.
So there aren't so many people who are voluntarily deciding to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11, but rather buyers who don't want to bother changing the operating system on their new computer. This actually makes a lot of sense. And for Microsoft, it's what suits them best, since their personal battle is to increase the number of users in Windows 11 no matter what. In addition, they have already made it clear that making old computers obsolete, even if indirectly and not deliberately, is one of the ideas they don't reject. After all, they do it every time they recommend that users buy a new computer if they can't upgrade to Windows 11.
Let's keep in mind that Windows 10 will lose its mainstream support on October 14, 2025, and that from then on, you will have to pay to continue being protected while using the operating system. It is possible, however, that by that date more and more users will have had to upgrade their computers. However, there will still be thousands of computers in public institutions, governments and other entities, where Windows 10 is sure to continue being used. We will have to see how Microsoft deals with all this to withstand the possible downpour and, in parallel, ensure that Windows 11 continues to improve. For now, the current version of the operating system has been with us for three years and still has a long way to go.