Microsoft has hit a major milestone with Windows 11 — it has officially become the most used desktop operating system, just months before Windows 10 reaches its end of support.
According to new data from StatCounter (spotted by Windows Central), Windows 11 now holds 52% of the desktop market, while Windows 10 has dropped to 44.59%. This shift comes nearly four years after Windows 11’s release, marking the end of a long uphill battle for adoption.
Windows 11 had already become the top OS for PC gaming back in September, but overall user adoption was still lagging behind Windows 10 until now. Leaked data from October 2023 revealed that Windows 11 had reached over 400 million active devices — but it took two years to hit that mark. By comparison, Windows 10 reached the same number in just one year.
A big reason for the slower rollout? Strict hardware requirements. While Windows 11 was offered as a free upgrade to Windows 10 users, many older PCs didn’t meet the new CPU and security standards. Microsoft has tried nudging users with full-screen upgrade prompts, but many have been reluctant to buy new hardware.
As the Windows 10 end-of-support deadline (October 14, 2025) approaches, Microsoft is giving users more choices. If you don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11 just yet, you can still get a free extra year of security updates — but only if you enable Windows Backup and sync your Documents folder to OneDrive.
If that’s not appealing, Microsoft offers another option: pay $30 per year for updates or redeem 1,000 Microsoft Reward points.
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