Microsoft quietly implies Windows has LOST millions of users since Windows 11 debut — are people really abandoning ship?

Microsoft has seemingly confirmed that Windows is losing market share, without specifically saying so. As pointed out by ZDNet, a recent blog post confirmed that Windows is currently in use on over a billion devices. Except, "over a billion" is actually significantly down over the previous number it shared in 2022, not too long after Windows 11 first debuted.

Back in 2022, Microsoft said Windows was in use on 1.4 billion devices, suggesting this most recent number is down enough that it can no longer say 1.4 billion. Of course, this could simply be a rounding oversight on Microsoft's part, or the company is using a different counting metric this time. But it does raise the question, are people really looking to abandon ship from Windows?

ZDNet suggests that with Windows 10's end of support approaching, many are choosing to throw away their old PCs instead of upgrading to a new one. More and more people don't actually need a PC anymore, with smartphones and tablets being more than enough for their personal lives. And for those who do need a PC, alternatives like Mac and ChromeOS are viable options for many in 2025. According to StatCounter, Windows has lost roughly 15% of its userbase in the last 10 years.

That's not to say people aren't upgrading to Windows 11, but since 2023 it feels like Windows as a platform has stagnated, which could play a part in the decline of users. There was a huge buzz around Windows between 2020 and 2023, with Windows 10X eventually morphing into Windows 11 and kickstarting a new era of the Windows desktop.

But this effort seems to have been abandoned midway through. There are parts of Windows 11 today that are still incomplete, with missing features and broken UX. Dark mode for example, a standard feature of all modern platforms, is basically outright broken on Windows 11. For whatever reason, Microsoft doesn't feel it's important to fix issues like this, instead prioritizing Copilot, AI, and enshittification across the board.

Copilot+ failed to boost the market

Microsoft attempted to give the PC market a boost in 2024 with the launch of a new category of AI-powered Windows 11 devices dubbed Copilot+ PCs, with the thinking that AI was going to be enough to push users to upgrade to new PCs. The features on offer with these Copilot+ PCs have proven unpopular for the most part.

It also feels like Microsoft has taken every opportunity in the last few years to enshittify Windows in ways that feel egregious, and in some cases, outright user hostile. Windows 11 is the only platform on the market that requires an online user account to even setup their PC, for example. No other desktop or mobile platform requires this currently.

There's also the onslaught of ads and bloat that comes with Windows 11 today, most of which weren't there when Windows 11 first debuted. The platform has slowly decayed as Microsoft explores more ways it can make money from the users who upgrade to it. Today, the user will see ads for Microsoft services appear in everything from the lock screen and Start menu, to Windows Search and the Settings app. It's literally everywhere.

Of course, a lot of this can be turned off, but when the platform is as unappealing as it is currently, why would the user bother? Ads exist on macOS too, but because Mac users love the platform, they're more than happy to spend the time turning off those popups should they appear. I think a lot people don't actually love Windows, and would rather just switch to something else than spend the time tweaking it to their liking. That's fully Microsoft's fault for failing to make users want to love it.

The reputation Windows has today is not a positive one. While I personally think Windows 11 is the best that Windows has ever been, it doesn't matter if that's even true, because users have already made up their mind. For most people, Windows is not an aspiring product or platform currently.

With all that said, Windows 11 is still climbing in market share, and will likely surpass Windows 10 as the most used Windows platform in the next year. However, it's becoming increasingly likely that Windows 11 will never see the same heights as Windows 10 did at its most popular, and that's because more users than ever appear to be jumping ship for something else.

via Tom's Hardware