Since Windows 11 premiered on October 5, 2021, Microsoft users have been gradually adopting this new operating system. Interestingly, its major rival is none other than the ever-reliable Windows 10, one of the best operating systems in the company’s history.
According to data leaked today, more than 400 million devices are actively using Windows 11 on a monthly basis. That could be a lot… or few. We need to verify that now.
The publication Windows Central claims to have seen “internal data from Microsoft” indicating that Windows 11 is expected to reach 500 million active monthly devices by early 2024.
Who has more users: Windows 10 or Windows 11?
Everything pointed to the adoption of Windows 11 being slower than that of its predecessor, and these leaked data support this assumption.
Windows 10 reached 400 million active devices for the first time just over a year after its launch, an adoption rate that Microsoft proudly noted was 115% faster than Windows 7.
In contrast, Windows 11 has taken two years to reach the same adoption rate, a significant slowdown considering that Windows 10 reached 600 million devices just months after its second anniversary.
Reasons why Windows 11 is far behind W10
Microsoft first released Windows 11 in October 2021 with strict hardware requirements. Windows 11 is only compatible with CPUs released from 2018 onwards and devices equipped with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security chips.
Microsoft changed the minimum system requirements to focus on raising the security threshold in Windows 11, with modern chips capable of enabling memory integrity security features based on virtualization and Microsoft’s Virtual Machine Platform (VMP).
These hardware requirements have caused Windows 11 to lag behind the release of Windows 10, which was also offered to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users as a free upgrade.
Yes, Windows 11 was a free upgrade for Windows 10 users, but only if they met the minimum hardware requirements, leaving millions of machines behind.
We have seen the slow adoption reflected in Steam’s survey data, as Windows 11 accounts for only 37% of operating systems, compared to nearly 60% for Windows 10.
Statcounter places Windows 11’s market share at almost 25%, far behind Windows 10’s over 70%. Above, you can see the chart depicting the adoption of Microsoft operating systems.
