The big picture: Windows 11 suffered a worrying market share dip in the spring, according to Statcounter, but Microsoft's latest operating system might have recovered to a new all-time peak. Although Windows 10 remains overwhelmingly dominant, Microsoft's enforced end-of-life date for the OS is approaching, and new hardware could drive the growth of its successor.
New figures from Statcounter show Windows 11 adoption scraping up against 30 percent of all Windows users. The report indicates a reversal after the OS's concerning dip in April.
After recently returning to 70 percent market share, Windows 10 has fallen to 66 percent while its successor has reached an all-time high of 29.71 percent. Since its debut in October 2021, Windows 11 has experienced slow growth compared to earlier editions.
Confusing CPU requirements became an early controversy for Microsoft's latest OS owing to its requirement for TPM 2.0 security, which many mature but still popular CPUs lack. Furthermore, virtually all Windows hardware and software still supports Windows 10, causing some users to view upgrading as unnecessary.
However, new products are shipping with Windows 11 pre-installed, and the emerging AI PC trend aims to push the OS into more homes and businesses. The new Arm-based Copilot+ PCs running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X SoCs offer a preview of the latest major update – 24H2 – which introduces numerous onboard generative AI features.
Microsoft paused the release of 24H2's most ambitious feature – Recall – following serious security concerns. Recall records virtually everything users do on a PC to give the Copilot generative AI assistant a sort of "memory," but research suggests that information can be easily stolen.
AMD's AI PC SoC, Strix Point, looks to end Windows 10 support when it arrives soon. The OS's official end-of-support date is October 14, 2025, and businesses must pay a high premium to receive Extended Security Updates afterward. Third-party security updates will be available through 0patch until 2030.
Gaming might be another driver behind Windows 11 adoption. Steam's monthly hardware & software survey has always shown more optimistic numbers for the OS than Statcounter. In June, Windows 11 reached 46.63 percent adoption – an increase of half a percent – as Windows 10 dips just below half of all users. No Windows 11-exclusive game is known to exist, but gamers building new rigs are likely installing the OS, which is currently on sale for $22.