Microsoft’s Windows 10 has become the most popular desktop operating system by overtaking Windows 7 in December. In about three and a half years of its release since 2015, the Windows 10 OS finally managed to take lead over Microsoft’s other popular desktop operating system Windows 7, according to statistics shared by analytics firm Net Applications.
According to the data, Microsoft Windows 10 has managed to grab 39.22 percent of the market, while Windows 7 lagged behind at 36.9 percent. NetMarketShare, which tracks operating system and browser usage shared the December OS market share statistics (via Mybroadband.co.za).
While Windows 10 has been a new standard in computer operating system since long now, it is the first time since 2015 that Windows 10 took lead over Windows 7. After the launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft was criticized a lot and it made users to stick to Windows 7 instead. Even Windows 8 underwhelmed consumers and it never became the first choice for people.
Other than that, Windows 7 retained its popularity despite Windows 10 being a more advanced OS. Microsoft’s free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 didn’t entice users in large numbers. After the release of Windows 10 in 2015, genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 were given an option to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge. This offer from Microsoft ended on July 29th, 2016, but it was still an option to upgrade to Windows 10.
Microsoft also kept supporting Windows 7 looking at the user base. The support window for Windows 7 has been extended to January 14, 2020. Most previous statistics have shared that Windows 7 is still most preferred OS by businesses even though Windows 10 is on a rise. The OS gained market share about 5 percent since the start of 2018 while Windows 7 declined about 5.5 percent.
