Windows 11 still lags Windows 10 in overall market share

[DragonSlayer101]

What just happened? Almost exactly two years after release, Windows 11 remains a distant second to Windows 10 in terms of global market share. As of September 2023, Microsoft's latest desktop operating system is installed on 23 percent of all PCs worldwide, while Windows 10 runs on 71 percent of all Windows computers.

The results come from StatCounter's latest Windows version market share report that also revealed how former favorites, Windows XP and Windows 7, are slowly giving way to more modern Windows versions. As per the report, XP is now installed on less than 1 percent of all Windows PCs, while the Windows 7 only runs on about 3 percent of PCs. Windows 8, which never quite managed to gain a foothold in the market, can be found on only 0.35 percent of Windows computers as of September 2023.

The results also show that Windows 10 has managed to retain market share despite Windows 11 making some gains in recent months, mostly at the expense of older operating systems like Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. While Windows 10 remains a relatively solid OS, it will no longer get feature updates from Microsoft, meaning folks wanting all the latest enhancements would have to jump ship to Windows 11 sooner rather than later.

Also read: Microsoft closes Windows 7-to-11 free upgrade loophole after seven years, we think

However, people who want to hang on to Windows 10 a bit longer can do so without risk, as Microsoft will continue rolling out security patches to the OS for two more years before its mainstream support ends in October 2025. As for Windows 11, the company rolled out the 'Moment 3' update last month to all supported desktops and laptops, bringing a number of new features and improvements.

Meanwhile, another report reinforces the notion that gamers have adopted Windows 11 a little more enthusiastically than general users. According to Valve's monthly Steam Hardware & Software Survey results, Microsoft's latest OS is used by 37% of all gamers on Steam, while Windows 10 remains the undisputed leader with 57%. Curiously, Windows 11's share is down 1.79 percentage points since last month, while Windows 10 is up 1.99 percent.

As for older versions of the operating system, Windows 7 and Windows 8 combined have less than 2 percent market share among Steam gamers, but that is likely go down to zero in January 2024 when Valve plans to drop support for pre-Windows 10 versions. Among non-Windows OS on Steam, macOS has a 1.43 percent share, while the various Linux distros combined get 1.63 percent.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100359-windows-11-lags-windows-10-overall-market-share.html

 

[i like foxes]

I tried 11 and when I saw it was taking 1GB more RAM than Win 10 I right away got rid of it . heh heh . I spent about 5 min on it . he he . I dont have CPU with e-cores so I m in no urgent need of 11

 

[colossusrage]

Let me separate my taskbar tabs you cowards!

 

[m4a4]

I have yet to see a compelling reason to upgrade to 11.

On the other hand, I've seen many little reasons not to upgrade lol

 

[wiyosaya]

WTF???? Of course Windows 11 lags Windows 10 in market share. It should not take a survey, company, or rocket scientist to figure out that when you force completely new hardware to replace perfectly good old hardware to sell an operating system, adoption of that new OS by end users is going to be stagnant.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

And how much of Win 11 share is simply from new devices rather than upgrades?

 

[EdmondRC]

I was a very early adopter of Windows 11 and even with all of the initial complaints, there is functionally little difference between 10 and 11 for the end user. So, I agree with the two views, there is no compelling reason to switch and the limitations on older hardware are holding back adoption. For the vast majority of users, Windows 11 is nothing more than a change to the desktop and menus and honestly, that is not a bad thing. Windows 7 to 10 was a much bigger upgrade in terms of end-user experience.

 

[Impudicus]

Windows 11 is like another windows 8, or vista...

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Literally 0 reason to upgrade. The regressions in functionality, OTOH, are the best reason to avoid it.

I was a very early adopter of Windows 11 and even with all of the initial complaints, there is functionally little difference between 10 and 11 for the end user. So, I agree with the two views, there is no compelling reason to switch and the limitations on older hardware are holding back adoption. For the vast majority of users, Windows 11 is nothing more than a change to the desktop and menus and honestly, that is not a bad thing. Windows 7 to 10 was a much bigger upgrade in terms of end-user experience.

Change for the sake of change is absolutely a BAD THING. The windows 11 UI has been gutted, context menus destroyed, and for what? It doesnt stop smooth brains from infecting their PC.

 

[p51d007]

I can make 11 do pretty much the same thing that 10 or even 7 does.
Unfortunately, you DO have to hack a few registry entries, use something like open shell among
other tweaks to get to to work more like 10 or 7.
I refused to put it on my laptop, but after my antique i5 box died, my new HP Omen PC came with 11 and
I didn't want to battle back and forth using 10 on the laptop and 11 on the home PC, so I updated the laptop
to 11. After tweaking it, now both run the way I WANT THEM, not the way MS does.

 

[ChipBoundary]

WTF???? Of course Windows 11 lags Windows 10 in market share. It should not take a survey, company, or rocket scientist to figure out that when you force completely new hardware to replace perfectly good old hardware to sell an operating system, adoption of that new OS by end users is going to be stagnant.

Well, that's the common misconception that many people have. Old hardware isn't "perfectly good". We live in a world of interconnectivity. Because of this, security is paramount. As such, older hardware has baked in security flaws that cannot be fixed with firmware/software. Older hardware needs to be cycled out. What we really need is proper recycling so devices don't simply become e-waste. We need to develop and refine it so almost all raw materials can be pulled from them and re-used.

 

[brunocasarini]

Windows 11 made a lot of things more difficult (for example, changing default apps), its hardware requirements prevent thousands of good machines from running it and it's a data hoarder. I'm not installing it on my machines for the foreseeable future and I regularly recommend people to avoid it.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Well, that's the common misconception that many people have. Old hardware isn't "perfectly good". We live in a world of interconnectivity. Because of this, security is paramount. As such, older hardware has baked in security flaws that cannot be fixed with firmware/software. Older hardware needs to be cycled out. What we really need is proper recycling so devices don't simply become e-waste. We need to develop and refine it so almost all raw materials can be pulled from them and re-used.

Please name a hardware based remote exploit that has not been patched with an OS update. Also, explain why some 7th gen intel chips are approved for windows 11, while others are not. Certainly this nebulous "security" could be explained there?

 

[brunocasarini]

Older hardware needs to be cycled out.

That's easier said than done. Here in Brazil, most people simply CAN'T afford to upgrade or replace their equipment every year or two (or they don't even need to). As a computer technician, I've installed SSDs and Windows 10 even on Core 2 Duo/Quad based PCs for lots of end users and small businesses. They get very thankful for not having to buy a new machine when this small upgrade served them perfectly as it made their old machines usable again.
Forcing people to buy new hardware does not work. Remember RAMBUS?

 

[wiyosaya]

Well, that's the common misconception that many people have. Old hardware isn't "perfectly good". We live in a world of interconnectivity. Because of this, security is paramount. As such, older hardware has baked in security flaws that cannot be fixed with firmware/software. Older hardware needs to be cycled out. What we really need is proper recycling so devices don't simply become e-waste. We need to develop and refine it so almost all raw materials can be pulled from them and re-used.

Not everyone needs Nanny Internet. I've been on the internet since the mid-90s and have had enough common sense and awareness of internet security practices that none of the various PCs I've built, over those many years, so that none of them have succumbed to any security exploit, even though some of those PCs undoubtedly have some of those hardware exploits you speak of. That said, I know there are those out there that do not have my skill, and need Nanny Internet, but I don't.

Also, recycling is a nebulous business. You can drop off hardware to be recycled, but if it actually gets recycled is not under your control.

 

[Axle Grease]

WTF???? Of course Windows 11 lags Windows 10 in market share. It should not take a survey, company, or rocket scientist to figure out that when you force completely new hardware to replace perfectly good old hardware to sell an operating system, adoption of that new OS by end users is going to be stagnant.

I had UEFI, SecureBoot, and purchased a TPM to plug into the Rampage V Extreme. Windows 11 installed without any nag screens. BUT the Haswell implementation of Virtualisation-Based Security blows and so the CPU didn't make the grade. Eventually the feature updates stopped. Man, it hurt...

In any case, MS's thinking behind Windows 11 and future editions can be found here.
https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWMyFE

 

[wiyosaya]

In any case, MS's thinking behind Windows 11 and future editions can be found here.
https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWMyFE

I understand what they are trying to do; however, their Windows 11 security book is just more M$, and the hardware industry, hubris in the quest for $$$, IMO. We all know that saying about the best laid plans of mice and men - over the last few years, it seems as though any hardware "improvements" that were supposed to enhance security have fallen to hardware exploits, and perhaps, TPM 2.0 was/is the most vulnerable of them all - https://www.tomsguide.com/news/bill...s-vulnerable-to-newly-discovered-tpm-20-flaws

M$ can continue to think it is keeping consumers and businesses alike, safe from the evils of the Internet, but time and again, the evils of the internet have proven themselves capable of defeating even the strictest of security experts and their devices.

The other part of the Windows 11 Security book that is driven home by it is the the "social engineering" aspect of it. Until people who use computers are informed enough to know that there are "devils" out there who will make every attempt to trick them into falling for some sort of "socially engineered" scam, well, the devils will keep at it because even one exploit fallen for typically gets them a considerable amount of $$$. The way I see it, until humanity finds a way not to use $$$ as its basis for making the world go around, humanity will continue to have $$$ based problems.

 

[toooooot]

Still too buggy. I got a new pc and laptop this year both with win 11.
I miss not having bugs. I do not like to deal with these problems, small but nonetheless.

 

[torchyear]

Let me separate my taskbar tabs you cowards!

Latest version update finally lets you do that in Taskbar Settings

 

[MasterFig]

Let me separate my taskbar tabs you cowards!

Update 23H2 has a setting that will allow you to separate your tabs.

 

[Axle Grease]

I understand what they are trying to do; however, their Windows 11 security book is just more M$, and the hardware industry, hubris in the quest for $$$, IMO. We all know that saying about the best laid plans of mice and men - over the last few years, it seems as though any hardware "improvements" that were supposed to enhance security have fallen to hardware exploits, and perhaps, TPM 2.0 was/is the most vulnerable of them all - https://www.tomsguide.com/news/bill...s-vulnerable-to-newly-discovered-tpm-20-flaws

M$ can continue to think it is keeping consumers and businesses alike, safe from the evils of the Internet, but time and again, the evils of the internet have proven themselves capable of defeating even the strictest of security experts and their devices.

The other part of the Windows 11 Security book that is driven home by it is the the "social engineering" aspect of it. Until people who use computers are informed enough to know that there are "devils" out there who will make every attempt to trick them into falling for some sort of "socially engineered" scam, well, the devils will keep at it because even one exploit fallen for typically gets them a considerable amount of $$$. The way I see it, until humanity finds a way not to use $$$ as its basis for making the world go around, humanity will continue to have $$$ based problems.

On the security front I prefer this Microsoft over the old Microsoft. It is just that Microsoft is so godawful at explaining stuff. Always was. Just trying to ascertain from MS support *why* my Haswell CPU is incompatible with Windows 11 was an exercise in frustration. In place of a relevant answer, I was repeatedly referred to the Windows 11 CPU compatibility list and documentation on the new driver model. I eventually gave up on support and scoured the internet until I found answers.

All I expect from MS is to make life difficult for the wannabe hacker filth to steal money and information, and as more people work from home these days, I don't begrudge Microsoft pushing for chip to cloud security on end consumer-grade PCs. I just begrudge the incompetent way MS goes about it.

On your last point; I'll gladly take $$$ problems over problems caused by trying to eradicate $$$ any day *regardless* of how shitty my life is. A $$$-less world benefits humanity only in a Gene Roddenberry fantasy. It's like trying to banish rational self-interest, and rational self-interest makes the world go around.

 

[schwaggins]

I tried 11 and when I saw it was taking 1GB more RAM than Win 10 I right away got rid of it . heh heh . I spent about 5 min on it . he he . I dont have CPU with e-cores so I m in no urgent need of 11

I keep my RAM locked away in a draw so nothing can use it, it's too precious

 

[Mark Fuller]

Please name a hardware based remote exploit that has not been patched with an OS update. Also, explain why some 7th gen intel chips are approved for windows 11, while others are not. Certainly this nebulous "security" could be explained there?

All will be well with windows 10 until October 2025, when Microsoft discontinues support for windows 10. As we near the deadline you can be sure you will see a change in the overall market share. To me this is a shame, I would still be using earlier versions of windows, but since they are no longer being supported, that leaves me open to many problems I don't need. They use any car till it won't run anymore. Think of all the hardware sitting around that still works but is not used because it is not supported.

 

[ChipBoundary]

Please name a hardware based remote exploit that has not been patched with an OS update. Also, explain why some 7th gen intel chips are approved for windows 11, while others are not. Certainly this nebulous "security" could be explained there?

It'll have to do with instruction sets and protocols. It isn't uncommon for lower-tier CPU's in a lineup to lack support for certain things. It's not nebulous. It's factual, ask any computer science major. And the problem isn't remote issues. If one computer gets physically compromised, it compromises the entire integrity of the web.

On top of that, security flaws exist in hardware that we aren't even aware of yet. You can't patch hardware, it's never been done. The hardware flaws that were "patched", were never fully so and some vulnerability remains . Specter and Meltdown remain an issue, even with the extensive software patching that has been done. There is no such thing as flawless hardware. It's impossible to make, it doesn't exist. Every single piece of hardware out there has vulnerabilities just waiting to be discovered.

Hell, there's evidence shown that devices can have unencrypted data read through their power transmission. Albeit from VERY short range, 10 feet or so, but it doesn't require someone to be in the same room as the device. How do you propose that be patched? There's a whole burgeoning market out there now for people who literally sit around thinking up ways to exploit hardware. Companies are paying BILLIONS for this type of information, so they mitigate as best they can.

 

[Mark Fuller]

It'll have to do with instruction sets and protocols. It isn't uncommon for lower-tier CPU's in a lineup to lack support for certain things. It's not nebulous. It's factual, ask any computer science major. And the problem isn't remote issues. If one computer gets physically compromised, it compromises the entire integrity of the web.

On top of that, security flaws exist in hardware that we aren't even aware of yet. You can't patch hardware, it's never been done. The hardware flaws that were "patched", were never fully so and some vulnerability remains . Specter and Meltdown remain an issue, even with the extensive software patching that has been done. There is no such thing as flawless hardware. It's impossible to make, it doesn't exist. Every single piece of hardware out there has vulnerabilities just waiting to be discovered.

Hell, there's evidence shown that devices can have unencrypted data read through their power transmission. Albeit from VERY short range, 10 feet or so, but it doesn't require someone to be in the same room as the device. How do you propose that be patched? There's a whole burgeoning market out there now for people who literally sit around thinking up ways to exploit hardware. Companies are paying BILLIONS for this type of information, so they mitigate as best they can.

I still don't believe that the older hardware can't be made to work. It's just an arbitrary decision Microsoft made to exclude the older systems so someone could sell more hardware and software, also that's not to say they could not continue to support Windows 10 being as it's already there. The whole idea we're talking about is the forcing of people to change.