Next month sees Windows 10 finally reaching the end of (mainstream) support. Microsoft has been pushing people towards Windows 11 for what feels like forever, and it worked – for a while.
The latest market figures show that this is changing. The statistics for August 2025 from statcounter Global Stats show a marked drop in Windows 11’s share of the desktop market.
Rewinding a little bit through time, June 2025 was a significant month because it marked the point at which Windows 11 finally caught up (well, very nearly) with Windows 10. Windows 11 managed to reach a market share of 47.98 percent of Windows desktops, compared to 48.76 percent for Windows 10.
July 2025 saw Windows 11’s steady increase in popularity continuing, with a big jump for the latest version of Windows up to a 53.51 percent share of the market. Windows 10 trailed behind at 42.88 percent.
But now the tide is turning. While Windows 11 remains more popular than Windows 10, there has been a very sudden drop in market share. As of August 2025, Windows 11 has a 49.08 percent share of the desktop Windows version market. This compares to 45.53 percent for Windows 10.
The downturn will be disappointing for Microsoft, and it is somewhat surprising for everyone else. It is all the more shocking when you consider we are now just weeks away from Windows 10 reaching the end of life.
It is difficult to pull apart the numbers to determine just why Windows 11 is suffering in this way, but there is a further surprise. Not only is Windows 10 increasing in popularity, but so is Windows 7. Yes, Windows 7.
It would be an exaggeration to say that the ancient Windows 7 is enjoying a resurgence, but a jump in market share to 3.59 percent at this stage of the game is remarkable.
So close to the death of Windows 10, it would be reasonable to see its share of the market continually, but slowly reducing. To see it increasing is just weird.
It does seem to indicate an astonishing resistance to Windows 11 with so many millions of systems still being powered by an incredibly old operating system which is not far from being dropped by the company responsible for it. Windows 10 remains a beloved version of Windows, and people wanting to hang on to it is understandable – especially anyone wanting to avoid the onslaught of AI. But Windows 7 is another matter.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the market share statistics for the rest of 2025 and the early part of 2026. Will Microsoft’s persistence force people towards Windows 11, or will Windows 10 continue to maintain a significant presence?
Image credit: NikolayShubin / depositphotos
