Win10 still clings to over 40% of devices weeks after Microsoft pulls support

As the dust settles over the end of support for many versions of Windows 10, the operating system remains a significant presence in the Windows market.

While Microsoft is hoping for a mass move to Windows 11 - its flagship OS - devices running the predecessor, Windows 10, are still everywhere. This is despite Microsoft making it clear that October 14 was the end of the line for free support for most. To keep the fixes flowing, users must sign up for Extended Security Updates (ESU) or use a supported version of the operating system, such as the LTSC editions.

The share of devices on Windows 10 is declining, but very slowly, accompanied by an equally gradual uptick in the use of Windows 11. For October, Statcounter reported figures of 41.71 percent for Windows 10 and 55.18 percent for Windows 11. It's hardly a ringing endorsement of Microsoft's approach of using stricter hardware compatibility requirements to push users towards compliance.

In the absence of official figures from Microsoft, the numbers from Statcounter provide a useful guide to how things are going at an operating system level. The company's tracking code is installed on 1.5 million websites globally, a fraction of the total, but sufficient to provide an indicator.

The progress of Windows 11 is in marked contrast to the final month of Windows 7 support, when the operating system accounted for just under a quarter of the market compared to the more than two-thirds of Windows 10 as the support deadline loomed.

With free support now over for many versions of Windows 10, enterprises with devices still using the operating system should already have the ESU program in place until hardware can be replaced. As such, a sudden spike in Windows 11 adoption is unlikely in the immediate future.

A combination of factors, including hardware replacement cycles and ESU availability, means the market will decide when businesses put Windows 10 out to pasture rather than an arbitrary date set by the Windows giant. The state of the economy and - in the US at least - tariffs have also contributed to slower than expected migration.

Microsoft's next goal is the adoption of AI services, and the company has said it intends to add assistants and agents to Windows. It has not, however, said it will repeat the hardware compatibility stunt of Windows 11, where it attempted a forced upgrade.

As for the AI argument, it will need to be significantly more compelling than it is now to avoid a repeat of the lethargy experienced during the switch to Windows 11. ®