In July 2025, Windows 10 will officially hit ten years old, and in October 2025, Windows 10 will also hit end-of-life status.
Indeed, Microsoft typically only supports its Windows operating systems for "free" up to a certain point, with development work and security updates focusing on the more modern versions after a certain point. Microsoft's current policy grants Windows versions 5 years of broader support, and then an extended 5 years of security updates support. After that point, it expects consumers and businesses alike to begin upgrading to the latest version to maintain security updates. Businesses have the option to pay hefty fees to retain Windows security support for older versions, but the idea is that it should be more cost effective to simply upgrade at that point.
RELATED: Everything you need to know about Windows 10's end of life
Windows 10 has been a particularly "sticky" operating system for a variety of reasons. Anecdotally, consumers seem distrustful of the amount of telemetry and "online" features Windows 11 seems to foist on users, in-shell Windows ads notwithstanding. Additionally, Microsoft is requiring users upgrade their hardware in some cases to get Windows 11. Windows 11 has a TPM 2.0 requirement, which some motherboards simply don't support.
There have been ways to get around Windows 11's TPM 2.0 requirement, but Microsoft isn't particularly supporting of these workarounds. Microsoft is actively enforcing the TPM 2.0 hardware requirement on Windows 11 installs, which it hopes will guide users to upgrade to new PCs through 2025. Their efforts may be working.
The latest operating system share data just hit StatCounter.com, and it shows a pretty strong uptick for Windows 11, which has now hit 36.65% — the highest it has had thus far.
By comparison, Windows 10 continued its gradual decline, hitting 60.33%. The next most popular version of Windows remains Windows 7, which is hovering around 2.4%. Many large businesses which use embedded apps and services on older Windows versions often prefer to simply pay up for on-going security support, rather than update their internal networks. The UK national health service was notoriously still languishing on Windows XP for years, until finally upgrading to Windows 10 back in 2018.
RELATED: How to prep your Windows 10 PC to upgrade to Windows 11
Microsoft and its PC manufacturer OEM partners are likely hoping that Windows 10's "end of life" status will spur users to upgrade to new modern PCs through the year. However, trade wars instigated by the United States government threaten to increase prices on electronics, with tariffs and restrictions targeting chip manufacturers and PC builders across Asia. It's entirely likely that Microsoft and PC OEMs may find itself in the midst of fresh road bumps as a result along the road to grow Windows 11's market share, as firms race to figure out exactly how best to mainstream much-hyped AI features with consumers.
Although it's doubtless a smaller sample size, Valve's Steam Hardware Survey also has been updated for January, and interestingly shows Windows 11 actually losing a sliver of market share to MacOS and ... Windows 10. Although Windows 11 remains the preferred gaming OS overall on PC, with 54%~ share. Windows on Steam, overall, enjoys a 96%~ market share. The Steam Deck has begun adding to Linux's share on the overall list, though, grabbing 2%~ ahead of MacOS's 1.4%~.
