Windows 10 has been, since 2015, an operating system that has been continuously updated, similar to the Rolling Release distributions of Linux. Each of these updates had 18 months of support, after which they forced to update or leave the system in danger. The idea was not bad, but the problems with the updates, and the fear that something would go wrong, has caused the fragmentation between versions to increase considerably, leaving many users in obsolete versions, without support.
Microsoft has been forcing updates on many users who were running out of support to try to get most of them to use a modern, maintenance-free version of the operating system. Although the company does not usually provide data on its more or less used versions, thanks to AdDuplex we can know the status of Microsoft’s operating system. What is the most used version? How many users use unsupported Windows and are they at risk?
Market share of different versions of Windows 10
The truth is, while forcing updates usually doesn’t sit well with users, Microsoft is doing a good job. And the proof of this can be seen in the latest market share reports. As AdDuplex shows us, the last 3 versions of the operating system lead the ranking of the most used versions.
First of all, we can find Windows 10 20H2 , the second update of 2020 of the operating system, with a use of 36.3%. In second place, Windows 10 version 21H1 , the most recent, with a market share of 26.6%. And thirdly, the famous 2004 version , released in April 2020, which still supports 24.6% of Windows 10 users.
Below, we find the 2019 versions of the OS (versions that no longer have any support). These are 1909, with 5.4% market share, and 1903, with 2.3% market share. Finally, the 2018 and earlier versions occupy 3.8% of users. In total, 11.5% of Windows 10 users use unsupported versions . It’s not much, but it’s more than it should be.
Finally, we could not forget about the Windows 10 Insider edition, which has a 0.2% market share.
Windows 11 makes its debut
And what about the almost 1% missing market share? Interestingly, this is the first time that Windows 11 appears as relevant within the market share of Windows 10 versions. Microsoft’s new operating system, still available only to Insider users, already has almost a 1% share market. This is why the market share of Windows 10 Insider versions has dropped so much.
Users seem to be happy trying Microsoft’s new operating system, despite being a version still in development. We will have to wait until the end of summer, when this new version reaches all users without being “beta”, to see if it really gains trust, and makes us update, or if users continue to prefer Windows 10.