Microsoft EVP Yusuf Mehdi said in a company blog post last week that Windows powers over a billion active devices worldwide.
That may sound like a good number, but according to ZDNET , Microsoft's annual report for 2022 said that more than 1,4 billion devices were running Windows 10 or 11.
Given that these documents contain essential information and have reportedly been thoroughly reviewed by the company's experts, we can safely assume that the Windows user base has been quietly shrinking over the past three years, losing around 400 million users.
This is probably why Microsoft is aggressively pushing users to upgrade to Windows 11 after the previous version of the operating system stops being supported.
While macOS poses a threat to Windows, especially with the release of Apple Silicon, it’s not like all of those 400 million users bought a MacBook. That’s because, as of 2023, Mac sales have also been declining, with Statista reporting that the PC line, which once accounted for more than 85% of the company’s revenue, now accounts for just 7,7%.
The shrinking Windows user base can be attributed to a combination of factors – a major one being the global shift towards a mobile-first world, where smartphones and tablets are increasingly replacing traditional computers for users' everyday needs.
At the same time, Microsoft's strict hardware requirements for Windows 11 have alienated users with functionally older machines, pushing some to stick with unsupported versions or abandon Windows altogether.
Additionally, many users find Windows 11 less user-friendly than its predecessor and are frustrated with Microsoft's data collection and Apple-style design changes.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
