(Image credit: Surface/Unsplash)If the recent news concerning two Windows 11 updates that have been breaking various features isn’t enough, the recent reveal that the OS’s market share has dipped below 26% certainly should spark some alarm.
According to April 2024 data from Statcounter, Windows 11 plummeted to a 25.69% market share after it reached an all-time high of 28.16% back in February 2024. Meanwhile, Windows 10 has risen to over 70% market share during the same period, and this is after Microsoft announced its intentions to reach End of Support (EOS) for Windows 10 by October 2025.
Microsoft could be looking at a tremendous issue, in which its hopes for Windows 11 being the ultimate AI-supported OS with Copilot, are hampered due to not having the user base it needs. Normally, an OS drops in support once the successor launches, so Windows 11 falling nearly three points in just a few months is quite telling.
But is it honestly surprising? It’s no secret that Windows 11 has been plagued with issues and bad updates since its launch — not to mention its biggest problem involving many users not being able to make the upgrade in the first place due to its much steeper installation requirements, which prevents many otherwise interested users from even upgrading in the first place.
There’s also the fact that the OS has been forcing ads as "recommendations" into the Start menu and has even begun testing promotional recommendation pages that take up your whole screen, urging users to make Edge the default browser and installing or enabling other services. The worst part is that there’s no way to fully opt out of these ads, which accomplish nothing but clog up the UI with constant notifications.
As for what features Windows 11 offers over Windows 10? There’s simply not enough incentive for users to make the jump, with some features like centering the icons and Start menu on the taskbar and bringing back desktop widgets, barely worth mentioning. And some features, like the ability to move the taskbar, were actually removed.
On the other hand, Windows 10 came after Windows 8/8.1 which endeared users to its many improvements including bringing back the Start menu. Not to mention how much more stable the OS is compared to its successor, with far fewer broken updates.
What's the future for Windows 11?The biggest reason to make the move to Windows 11 is possibly Microsoft Copilot, but that’s also coming to Windows 10. There are some unique AI tools that Windows 11 will be getting eventually, but that could also serve to further the divide between users with higher-end PCs and less powerful ones.
So then, what should Microsoft do? The tech giant might have to cut its losses and speed up the release of Windows 12, putting all the AI goodies and other new features there instead. The user base would be more willing to move to a new OS, and doing so could even prevent a possible ecological disaster in the making. There are also tons of other features and tools that could be added, plenty of which are fan favorites that would easily draw in users from Windows 10.
This move would be the kiss of death for Windows 11, but this would honestly be a net positive for Microsoft, as it could put all the bad press for Windows 11 behind it and fully support a superior OS while giving Windows 10 users far more incentive to make the switch in the process.
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