Microsoft announced today that Windows 10 is now running on over 800 million active devices, just six months after passing the 700 million milestone at the end of September. The milestone also comes some two months after Windows 10 passed Windows 7 in market share.
Windows 10 was installed on over 75 million PCs in its first four weeks and passed 110 million devices after 10 weeks. Growth was fairly steady afterwards: 200 million in under six months, 270 million after eight months, 300 million after nine months, 350 million after 11 months, and 400 million after 14 months. It naturally tapered, though: 500 million after 21 months, 600 million after 28 months, and 700 million after 38 months.
More growth ahead
The chart above includes Windows 7 and Windows 8 for context (Microsoft stopped reporting Windows 7 and Windows 10 milestones much sooner in their respective lifecycles). Windows 7 and Windows 8 milestones were similar for the first six months or so, though it quickly became clear that Windows 8 was not keeping up with its predecessor did. Windows 10 has been ahead of both from the start, though its slope has expectedly flattened as well. The steepening at the end might be due to businesses and enterprises upgrading to Windows 10. Support for Windows 7 is set to expire on January 14, 2020. After that, security updates will cost you.
Thank you to all our customers and partners for helping us achieve 800 million #Windows10 devices and the highest customer satisfaction in the history of Windows. https://t.co/G3CRdkFoPT pic.twitter.com/je9kvBvYhj
— Yusuf Mehdi (@yusuf_i_mehdi) March 7, 2019
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Microsoft was aiming for 1 billion devices running Windows 10 “in two to three years” after its debut, but backpedaled on that goal. Windows 10 was released over three years ago in July 2015. At the current rate, Microsoft will likely hit the 1 billion figure sometime in Q2 2020.
Windows 10 is being developed as a service, meaning it receives new features on a regular basis. Microsoft has released six major updates so far: November Update, Anniversary Update, Creators Update, Fall Creators Update, April 2018 Update, and October 2018 Update.
The seventh update is expect next month, and Microsoft is already developing the ninth update coming in the first half of 2020. While the 1 billion mark is still about a year away, Windows 10’s update system is the real success.
