Windows 10 is 4 times more popular than Mac, Apple's own numbers show

As part of an apology to Mac Pro users who have been waiting ages for an update, Apple shared some figures on its Mac business today that give us a closer look at how it stacks up to the Windows 10 user base. Speaking with the folks at TechCrunch, Apple says that its Mac user base "is nearing 100 million users." As pointed out by The Verge, that makes Windows 10 around four times as popular, according to the latest official figures from Microsoft.

That's not entirely surprising given the nature of Apple's business. Despite the smaller user base, Apple says that its Mac business is nearing a $25 billion run rate, a size that brings it close to being a Fortune 500 company in its own right. Apple revealed some other interesting little tidbits as well, including that it now ships computers in a mix of 80% notebooks to 20% desktop.

As for Microsoft, the last time we got an official look at the Windows 10 install base was in September of 2016, when it was revealed the OS had more than 400 million active users. Growth has no doubt slowed since then, but that number is most assuredly higher at this point. While it's hard to pin down a specific figure, the user base for Windows as a whole would be much, much larger.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl