With Windows 10's last feature update completed in 2022, and various discussions about Windows 12, one might think that Windows 10's popularity is waning. However, the latest data shows that by the end of 2023, the Windows 10 operating system will still be as popular as it was at the end of 2022: Windows 10 will be installed on almost 7 out of 10 Windows desktops worldwide.
Statcounter's latest global desktop Windows version share data for the past 12 months is not a welcome one for Microsoft. At the end of this year, Windows 10’s share was 67.42%. Twelve months ago, the figure was almost the same - 67.95%.
Since Windows 10 was released in October 2021, Microsoft has been working hard to push users from Windows 10 to Windows 11. While the latest version of the operating system has grown its market share by 10% over the past 12 months, it's not at the pace Microsoft had hoped. In December 2023, only more than a quarter of desktop computers in the world will have Windows 11 installed.
As with previous versions of Windows, enterprise is the main reason Windows 10 continues to grow. Windows 10 has been losing ground to Windows 11 in gamer-focused Steam surveys for months. The share gap between the two is only 11%, and Windows 11 will almost certainly take the lead at some point this year. Despite this, Windows 10 is still used by more than half of respondents, which is significant.
Windows 10 will expire in October 2025 and will no longer be supported after that. However, Microsoft announced last month that users and businesses can get an additional three years of critical security updates if they are willing to pay. It's not yet known how much the subscription will cost, but based on Windows 7's ESU, it won't be cheap. However, users can choose to obtain patches from third-party groups such as 0patch.
The last feature update for Windows 10, 22H2, was released last year. There are also reports that Windows 12 will be available with a series of new "AIPCs" as soon as June 2024. It's unclear whether Microsoft will eventually use the Windows 12 name, especially since Windows 11's market share still lags far behind Windows 10.
Research firm Canalys reported last month that as many as 240 million PCs could be sent to landfills after Windows 10 expires in 2025 due to controversial hardware limitations in Windows 11.