What just happened? It's been 1,371 days, or 3 years and 9 months, since Windows 11's general-availability launch. But it's only now that the OS has surpassed Windows 10 as the most popular version of Microsoft's operating system globally. The reveal comes as Windows 10's October 14 end-of-support date draws ever closer, likely influencing many holdouts' decision to make the upgrade.
Windows 11's adoption among users has been slow. Its hardware demands, such as the requirement for a TPM 2.0 module – essentially making most pre-2017 CPUs unsupported – meant many users, especially businesses, have held off moving away from Windows 10.
But Windows 11 has been closing the market share gap on its predecessor in recent times. StatCounter had its share at 47.8% in June, less than a percentage point away from Windows 10.
Related reading: No Windows 12 yet: Microsoft rolls out Windows 11 25H2 preview build
In its July update, StatCounter's figures show that Windows 11 is finally the most popular version of the OS. It has reached a 52% global share while Windows 10 has dropped to 44.5%.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Windows Version Market Share
Windows 11 has long been the more popular OS among Steam survey participants. It moved above Windows 10 back in August 2024 and now commands a 58% share as Windows 10 shrinks to 37%.
Microsoft recently boasted that Windows 11 is up to 2.3x faster than Windows 10, though its claim is based on a single Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark score. Most outrageously, the Windows 10 PCs in the test were running Intel Core 6th-, 8th- and 10th-generation processors, while the Windows 11 PCs used Intel Core 12th- and 13th-gen CPUs.
In reality, there's almost no difference between the two operating systems in terms of performance – we benchmarked Windows 11 vs Windows 10 several times. The first time was in 2021, and then again with variations of gaming tests and CPUs here, and here, and last time was in 2024.
Come October, Windows 10 users who still refuse to let go will have the option of paying $30 for an additional year of security updates, receiving them for free by enrolling in Windows Backup, or obtaining unofficial updates through 0patch. They could always switch sides and install Linux or buy a Mac, something more people are doing these days.
Image credit: Rui Silvestre