Summary
- Windows 11 has replaced Windows 10 as the most popular Microsoft operating system worldwide.
- Windows 10’s decline is attributed to its end-of-life date approaching this October.
- Data collection challenges make it uncertain how many users upgraded to Windows 11, but many made the switch.
Well, it was a long time coming. Microsoft had really struggled with getting people to switch over to Windows 11, and for a long time, Windows 10 won out as the most popular operating system worldwide. A few days ago, we spotted that Windows 10 was on the verge of losing its top worldwide spot to Windows 11, and if its downward trend continued even a little bit, it would fall to number two.
It turns out that the trend did, in fact, continue. Now, Windows 10 has been dethroned by Windows 11, having held on for almost four years since the newer operating system’s release. As such, it seems that Microsoft has finally gotten its way and encouraged enough people to switch over to Windows 11.
Related
Microsoft is trying to convince Windows 10 users that TPM 2.0 is worth the upgrade
The Redmond giant would prefer that you use Windows 11 already.
Windows 11 has finally become the most-used Microsoft operating system in the world
As reported by StatCounter, the worldwide statistics show that Windows 11 has finally beaten Windows 10 to become the top Microsoft operating system. It comes after a few countries, like the US and the UK, finally relinquished their Windows 10 PCs and allowed Windows 11 to take the forefront.
If you take a peek at the chart above, you’ll see that Windows 10 remained steady over the last few months; in fact, it even gained users at times. However, Windows 10’s share has plummeted recently, presumably because its end-of-life date is rapidly approaching this October. It’ll also be Windows 11’s fourth birthday that month.
Because Statcounter collects its data in a particular way, it’s challenging to determine how many of the new wave of Windows 11 adopters arrived by purchasing a new PC or by being forced to upgrade to Windows 11 on their existing Windows 10 PC using tools like Rufus or Flyby11. Regardless of which method people picked, it’s still surprising to see people make the switch, especially given how Microsoft gave people a few free ways to extend their Windows 10 security support.
If you’re curious about how Windows fares versus other operating systems, StatCounter has that logged, too. As per its most recent report, Windows collectively takes the top spot at 70.14%, while OS X is at 9.87%. Both Linux and macOS sit around the 5% mark.
Have you made the jump over to Windows 11 in the last month or two? If so, you may want to check out the first 10 things to do with your new Windows 11 PC to get yourself properly situated. Just don’t think that Windows 11 is 2.3x faster than Windows 10 by default, despite what you think Microsoft told you.