Windows 10 Mobile now on nearly 5 percent of all Windows Phones

In this month's AdDuplex report, a surprising increase in devices running Windows 10 Mobile has been confirmed with 4.7 percent of all devices running the new OS. The numbers reflect a 1.4 percent increase from last month and strongly suggests that more users are taking advantage of Microsoft's free Insider preview program.

Windows 10 Mobile is expected to be released next month after Microsoft's New York City press event on October 6. Those who are part of the Insider program will get the update first before carriers begin to provide officially over-the-air updates. Additionally, new hardware running Windows 10 Mobile should be in people's hands by early November.

What to expect from Microsoft's Windows 10 devices event in NYC

The increased adoption of Windows 10 Mobile – even in beta form – is likely due to the growing stability of the OS making it more appropriate to use on people's daily phones. Microsoft still likely has a few builds before the OS is "finalized" for the actual release, however, meaning there is still more to come.

Nonetheless, even with Windows 10 Mobile becoming official, the Insider program is going to continue. Those enrolled today will carry on receiving Insider previews as Microsoft's Windows as a Service (WaaS) treatment of the mobile OS takes off.

The conclusion that can be reached is the Windows Insider program – even for mobile – is a general success for Microsoft. Having such a large swath of users with Windows 10 Mobile is likely providing the software company with a lot of telemetry data that will be used to continue to improve the OS over time. Having said that, most users would likely agree that Microsoft still has many obstacles to overcome before even their most ardent fans are convinced Windows 10 Mobile is worth their trouble.

About AdDuplex

The numbers from AdDuplex are collected through their in-app advertising that is prevalent in over 5,000 apps in the Windows Phone Store. That data serve as an important metric within the Windows Phone ecosystem. The full AdDuplex report for September will be posted tomorrow, September 25 on blog.adduplex.com.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.