Microsoft has finally done it: the company has succeeded in crowning Windows 11 as the dominant operating system on our PCs… However, it hasn’t been easy, and we’ve had to push hard at times. Adoption of the system has been slow, while Windows 10 is retiring this year with a lifeline for the most reluctant. In short, a mixed victory for Redmond!
Windows 11 finally crowned!
According to StatCounter’s report, W11 is Microsoft’s leading OS among all Windows PCs. However, the site doesn’t take all device types into account, and the data may vary from that produced by analysis services, but it’s already a solid basis, since the site is based on browser data. This excludes machines not connected to the net, for example.
It was not until July 1 that W11 became Microsoft’s main OS, with a 51.77% share. Windows 10, for its part, had a 45.02% market share, making it the new minority. But the adoption of W11 has clearly not been rapid, since the system was launched in October 2021 and was struggling to reach the 10% installation mark at the end of its first year. It must also be said that the system had hardware prerequisites that were far more demanding than Windows 10, requiring recent hardware as well as a TPM 2.0 module. In short, having to change your configuration for an operating system? It’s understandable that customers didn’t immediately embrace the idea, but the system’s share rose from 28% in 2023 to 36% by the end of 2024. At this point, it’s a safe bet that if the system has become the leader, it’s partly due to the end of Windows 10 support. Customers installing Microsoft’s new system before October 2025. But the addition of new features and the AI boom may also partly explain this adoption. Can we call it a success? Not really, since Windows 10 had been adopted more quickly and massively. But it also has to be said that the system came after Windows 8, which was shunned for its unappreciated Metro interface on the desktop. It now remains to be seen what the company has in store for us with Window 12.
