Windows 11 has never been more popular. But is the new wave of installs born of love or tolerance?
Windows 11 is approaching its three-year anniversary since launch, and the operating system has apparently reached an all-time high for users: Nearly 30% of all Windows PCs are now running Windows 11, at least according to one analytics firm.
That may not seem like much (to be honest, it isn’t), but it’s certainly a marked improvement over the past few years, when Windows 11 adoption has actually been declining slightly , and it’s certainly a positive sign compared to the cold reception the operating system initially received.
New reported that Statcounter’s latest monthly report shows that Windows 11 has a market share of 29.7%, while Windows 10 currently still has a comfortable majority of 66.1%.
Normally a new operating system is widely embraced when it is released. But celebrating a high of 30% almost three years after release is clearly not a good indication that Windows 11 is being welcomed with open arms – despite all the perks and AI features that are being added all the time.
That begs the question: why are so many people reluctant to switch to Windows 11? For starters, stricter system requirements that exclude older CPUs and non-TPM machines are a hard barrier to adoption when it comes to some PCs.
Furthermore, Windows 11 has suffered more than its fair share of bad updates and buggy behavior since its launch. On top of that, the operating system is slowly turning into an advertising conduit that, in some cases, is inescapable. On top of that, there’s simply not much difference between Windows 10 and Windows 11 for people who don’t care that much about AI or Copilot (and Copilot is in Windows 10 (although that doesn’t apply to all of Microsoft’s AI features).
Could this small win for Windows 11 – which represents a monthly increase of just over 2% in Statcounter’s numbers – simply be the result of people buying new machines? You’d be hard-pressed to find a new Windows desktop PC or laptop that doesn’t run Windows 11, and downgrading your system simply isn’t worth it (or perhaps even possible) for many. Especially considering that Windows 10 is not far from the end of its lifespan anyway (which starts in October 2025).
We may have to wait until Windows 12 eventually debuts and hope the improvement is big enough to persuade Windows 10 users to make the move and skip Windows 11 – although, again, system requirements are likely to be an insurmountable problem will turn out to be. hurdle for some older PCs.