When Microsoft launches a new Windows OS, the destiny of the platform is to become the most widely used PC operating system in the world. Windows 11 has that same fate, but of course it takes some time for adoption to propel the platform above more established Windows, in this case Windows 10.
Even so, Windows 11 has enjoyed explosive growth over the first six months of availability, suggesting it will surpass Windows 10 eventually. However, Microsoft's hopes of that happening quickly may be waning as a report shows adoption is slowing.
Market research firm AdDuplex says Windows 11 user numbers appear to have hit a plateau. During March 2022, the platform took only 0.1% market from older versions. Currently, the OS takes 19.4% of the market, with Windows Insider taking 0.6% for 20% market share overall.
Windows 10 still dominates with nearly 80% of the market across its various versions. Of course, that is expected since the platform has been available for years. It will take a long time for Windows 11 to overtake Windows 10. Although, with adoption stalling, Microsoft may be concerned that will never happen.
Windows 10 Support
It is worth remembering that the company will continue to support Windows 10 until 2025. When we discuss widescale adoption, we are not talking about consumers at home. Instead, it is the enterprise realm that dictates the popularity of an OS.
With Microsoft supporting Windows 10 for several more years, those enterprise clients may not see the need to upgrade. While Windows 11 has features the older version does not, those new additions are not necessarily must-haves or game-changers.
Upgrading Windows on scale across dozens, hundreds, or thousands of PCs in an organization is a painstaking task fraught with risk. There are certain to be businesses that simply do not see the need to upgrade.
That always happens, like when organizations held onto Windows 7 for years despite the availability of Windows 10. Microsoft will expect this, but the question is whether stalling adoption is a sign that Windows 11 is not appealing to businesses.
Tip of the day: For the most part, Windows apps are stable, but they can still be still thrown out of whack by updates or configuration issues. Many boot their PC to find their Microsoft Store isn't working or their Windows apps aren't opening. Luckily Windows 11 and Windows 10 have an automatic repair feature for apps that can resolve such issues.
