To be launched soon, Windows 10 has created a lot of buzz in the technology world. And while Microsoft has pinned a lot of hope on the new OS to boost its business it looks that many PC users are still clinging onto older OS versions.
Data from statistics provider Net Applications has revealed that Windows 7 is the most popular Windows OS even after 5 years of its launch. Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 which were successors of Windows 7 aren’t really customer favorites at the moment and occupy very less market share.
Windows XP is still second
Even though Microsoft ended Windows XP support on April 8th, 2014, the OS continues to be used widely. In fact, after Windows 7, it is the Windows XP that occupies the 2nd position in the OS market share.
February 2015 data from Net Applications reports that Windows 7 occupies 55.99% of the desktop OS market share while Windows XP is in 2nd position with 19.15%.
Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are still not so popular, with 3.55% and 10.49% market share respectively.
A wider user base of Windows 7 users means that customers are happy using this older OS and have rather ignored the updates that have in the form of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Even the additional features that the new OS has bought have not triggered a need to upgrade to newer versions.
So what does it mean for the upcoming Windows 10?
Microsoft has promised a free upgrade of Windows 10, at least for some time, asking users to upgrade their machines with the latest OS. Additionally, services like Cortana may attract a larger audience base with users exploring connectivity between Windows PCs and other devices like Windows Phone.
However, with questions over Windows 10 adaptation to different interfaces and compatibility still in mind, Microsoft may have to do more to convince users to upgrade.
