Interesting Times Ahead: Statistics Show Windows 10 Market Share Still on a Slow Rise

For Microsoft, users' reluctance to upgrade to Windows 11 is undoubtedly a significant issue. Despite various efforts to encourage upgrades, the adoption rate of this version remains low.

Contrarily, Windows 10, which is set to end support in October 2025, continues to see a rise in market share. Given that new PCs and laptops can only come pre-installed with Windows 11, this increase in Windows 10's market share is largely due to users opting for manual installations.

Statcounter's data reveals that by the end of November 2024, Windows 10's market share increased from 60.95% to 61.83%, while Windows 11's share slightly declined from 35.58% to 34.94%.

Although data collection methods are not 100% accurate, they serve as a reference point. Statcounter's tracking codes are installed on over 1.5 million websites worldwide, using daily visitor data to compile statistics on browser and operating system market shares.

The sluggish growth of Windows 11's market share is fundamentally linked to Microsoft's strategy. The TPM 2.0 requirement and the discontinuation of support for most older CPUs mean many PCs cannot directly upgrade to Windows 11.

Expecting users to proactively upgrade to Windows 11 is unlikely, as most non-professional users neither understand the operating system's lifecycle nor are inclined to initiate an upgrade. Therefore, without Microsoft's large-scale push, increasing Windows 11's market share quickly is challenging.

Hardware limitations prevent most PCs from meeting Windows 11's requirements, hindering Microsoft from directly pushing upgrades. In reality, Windows 11's market share reaching over 30% is largely due to new PCs coming pre-installed with it, rather than through upgrades.

We also mentioned yesterday that Microsoft reiterated in its Windows IT Pro blog that the TPM 2.0 requirement is a non-negotiable standard. Thus, many devices without TPM 2.0 will never receive an official upgrade prompt from Microsoft.

As for users who bypass limitations through technical means to install or upgrade to Windows 11, their numbers are almost negligible within the entire Windows user base, making it difficult to significantly boost Windows 11's market share.