Windows 10 was launched in July 2015 and marked an important milestone in Microsoft’s history: it was the first version of Windows offered to existing customers for free, in a clear attempt meant to boost adoption in the long term.



And with Windows 10, Microsoft was trying not only to get over the Windows 8 flop but also to convince users on Windows 7 to upgrade, especially because this is one of the most successful Windows versions ever released. With end of support coming in 2020, Windows 7 could become the new Windows XP, as users are very likely to refuse to upgrade and stick with this OS even after EOS.
But now that more than 6 months have passed since the debut of Windows 10, it’s very clear that Windows 7 hasn’t quite been impacted by the release of the new operating system. The free upgrade offer was a bigger success among Windows 8.1 users, as most of them were already disappointed with the OS due to the changes made by Microsoft, such as the removal of the Start menu.
The Windows 10 growth And even though getting a new Windows version completely free of charge really sounds very appealing, not everyone seems to be eager to upgrade, with statistics showing that Windows 10’s adoption is slowing down these days.
Net Applications shows that Windows 7 is currently the world’s number one desktop operating system with a share of 52.34 percent, followed by Windows 10 with 12.82 percent. And while becoming the second most-used OS in about six months is indeed an important achievement, everyone expected Windows 10 adoption to skyrocket thanks to this free upgrade offer.
The first months of 2016 indeed brought a small decline in Windows 7’s market share, dropping from 55.68 percent in December to 52.47 percent in January. And yet, Windows 7 still remains above the 50 percent threshold, which means that it still powers one in two PCs in the world.
Windows 10’s growth, on the other hand, is slowing down, and while it improved from 9.96 percent in December to 11.85 percent in January (an increase of 1.89 percent), February brought a difference of just 0.97 percent.
Microsoft’s free upgrade offer will continue until July 29, 2016, so users still have a few months left to move to Windows 10 without paying. But if the same performance is maintained, Microsoft could very well keep the free upgrade campaign beyond this date too.