At Microsoft's Build 2016 developer conference, CEO Satya Nadella said that Windows 10 is the "fastest-growing version of Windows for both consumers and businesses," and Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Windows Team, added that "Windows 10 will be the fastest-growing version we've ever had." That title was previously held by Windows 7.
But can this comparison be made? There are many factors that help promote Windows 10, such as the free distribution. Thus, Windows 10 managed to reach over 300 million devices about 6 months earlier than Windows 7 did.
But before we get to the supporting factors, let's take a look at the exact timeline.
Windows 7 took 462 days (from October 22, 2009 to January 27, 2011), or about 15 months, to be installed on 300 million devices. Windows 10 took 281 days (from July 29, 2015 to May 5, 2016), or about nine months. That means Windows 10 took 181 fewer days, or about six months.
Here is the progress of the new operating system installations in a graph:
As you can see, installations for Windows 7 and Windows 8 were almost identical for the first six months, although it quickly became clear that Windows 8 was not selling as fast as 7. Windows 10 seems to always be ahead of both previous operating systems, and the slope of its growth looks impressive.
But why did Windows 10 surpass previous operating systems?
- Windows 10, as mentioned above, is available as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 owners during the first year. This is why Microsoft counts “active devices” with Windows 10 and not “license sales.”
- Microsoft also counts phones running Windows 10 Mobile (both those purchased and those upgraded) in the total. The total also includes Xbox One, Surface, and HoloLens devices.
- Finally, as with every Windows release, there are more computers in the world. The number of devices has increased, and so the potential number of devices that can run Windows 10 is greater than it was in the days of Windows 7.
Here we should mention that Windows 10 is a service. This means that it will be updated regularly with not only fixes, but also new features. Windows 10 was developed in a very different way than its predecessors, and is still under development.
For these reasons, and because Windows is still vital to the company, Microsoft is pushing very aggressively for Windows 10 adoption.
But as we all know, no software is perfect, and there are many reasons why someone might not want to upgrade. Some users have complained, however, that their computers were upgraded without their permission. While the company continues to praise the new, more secure software that comes for free, the reality is that it can't satisfy everyone, even with a free upgrade.
The real bet for Microsoft will be to maintain Windows 10 adoption once the free upgrade offer ends. The company reiterated today that Windows 7 and 8.1 users have only three months (July 29, 2016 is the last day) to upgrade for free, and then prices will be $119 for the Home edition, and $199 for the Pro edition.
However, we wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft expands its offering. If it doesn't, the company's goal of installing Windows 10 on 1 billion devices "in two to three years" is at risk of not being achieved. Nearly a third of the goal has been achieved in nine of the 36 months. But if that pace slows, Microsoft will have to expand its offering.
