I've been dual-booting Windows 11 and Linux in total harmony throughout 2025 — Microsoft is in no danger of a mass exodus (unless it fumbles AI in Windows 12)

I've dabbled with Linux in the past, but I've regularly given up and moved back to Windows. That changed in 2025 when I decided to dig in my heels and stick with one distro. You see, my personal desktop has way too many power-hungry components, including an RTX 4090 GPU, so running a mini PC as my daily driver made me more willing to switch between two operating systems.

Heading to practically any social media platform and looking for conversations around Windows 11 will show you that the overall perception of Microsoft's modern operating system is less than stellar. Sure enough, Windows 10's EoL status exacerbated it, as thousands of users with outdated hardware were forced to choose between a life support extension or to upgrade to Windows 11.

However, the minimum hardware requirements made that impossible for some. Of course, if you're tech-savvy enough, you'll know that those "requirements" can be taken more as a suggestion than as a demand, and bypassing them has been possible for a while. At least that would be a relevant sentiment if the majority of everyday users were excited to upgrade, which certainly never felt like the case throughout 2025.

Recently, I put the feelers out to our community of readers to ask, "What's wrong with Windows 11?" Many of the comments I had expected were longstanding complaints about the Start menu and excessive memory usage in official apps. Others echoed the now-common complaints about the overexposure to artificial intelligence through integration where it needn't belong, such as Copilot in Notepad.

It's the latter that seems to matter most for the future of Windows, and the likelihood of Windows 12 becoming an agentic OS since Microsoft shows no signs of dropping its plans around local and cloud-based AI. Does it matter? Well, it depends. If more functions become mandatory, and Microsoft removes more agency from its users in favor of agentic AI models, then I can definitely imagine a repeat of EoL holdouts refusing to upgrade.

The "Iron Wall" is familiarity, not compatibility

So, if enough users really are threatening to jump ship, where will they go? Can Linux serve as a 1:1 replacement for Windows when it's missing native support for some popular apps, or would a move to Apple's well-established macOS make more sense? In my experience, the app problem isn't as much of an issue as it might seem, and many have open-source alternatives up for grabs.

Then again, it certainly isn't flawless, as I occasionally run into hardware that behaves unexpectedly in the various Linux distributions that I've tried — not that they can't be remedied, but 30 minutes of troubleshooting in forums isn't an appealing prospect for your average PC user. For now, I've had more success selling die-hard Windows fans on familiar-looking desktop environments.

Shells like KDE Plasma and Cinnamon made Fedora and Linux Mint the most palatable when I first dabbled in the vast ocean of distros, particularly the former because it's the same as you'll find on Valve's still-beloved Steam Deck while in Desktop Mode (as opposed to the default Gaming Mode).

Dig deeper, and you'll see popular alternatives like WINUX and Zorin OS, with the latter offering a comfortable middle ground for users moving away from Windows (and macOS) with a customized variant of the GNOME shell. Those two are likely tempting, but I'd still guide curious newcomers to Linux Mint for everyday productivity and promote Bazzite for PC gaming.

If nothing else, distros like Bazzite could mark a significant (if relatively minor) shift away from sole Windows 10/11 usage toward dual-booting with Linux, as it has been shown to improve performance in a particular selection of games. Then again, gamers like to think we occupy a significant portion of PC users (myself included), but in reality, we're a drop in the ocean.

There are still teething problems that keep me coming back to Windows 11, like my efforts to back up my physical collection of Blu-rays with an external, USB-powered drive running into errors on Linux that I simply don't have time to troubleshoot. Everything just works on my primary Windows drive, including Adobe's suite, but I can admit most of my app preferences are just habitual.

Even with these early signs of fluctuating OS adoption, I see no reason to believe Microsoft will lose its position as the most dominant desktop OS manufacturer in the next decade. If I had to predict what might cause any further apprehension from its long-serving users, it would be how the giant decides to handle the previously mentioned agentic AI in future versions of Windows.

Again, it wouldn't be enough to affect the majority — because most bystanders don't factor the ethics of AI into their everyday lives — but I can't ignore the negative community responses to Firefox embracing more (albeit optional) AI implementations, and the broader anti-AI sentiment across social media in general.

Windows is just too ingrained in the world's tech for any single-digit percentage shifts to be a concern just yet. Besides, Apple would have a better chance of riding high with greater macOS saturation before the "Year of the Linux Desktop" could ever enjoy the limelight, especially if affordable MacBooks are ramped up in 2026.

Then again, with the ongoing RAM crisis, any notion of affordable computing could be a pipedream, too. Here's hoping that CES 2026 has some good news for us on that front. Perhaps even Microsoft can regain the trust of the people who used to care the most with some real innovation next year, rather than tired iterations — and try not to cancel any of it this time.

Is Linux a threat to Windows' OS domination, or are we more likely to see a harmonious age of dual-booting for the best of both worlds? Does Apple's macOS even factor into the equation? Let me know in the comments!

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