Bad News for Microsoft: Windows 10 Loses Market Share Again

[Megalith]

The see-saw ride never ends as Windows 10’s share is seeing a decrease right after its “milestone” growth back in January. Luckily, the Creators Update is right around the corner and should create upswing for W10 when it debuts in a couple of weeks. XP and 8 also declined, but 7 grew once again. Another report shows that Windows 10 usage on Steam fell for the second month in a row.

According to NetMarketShare, in January, Windows 10 hit a big milestone. The new OS managed to grow by nearly one percentage point, to give it over 25 percent of the market. That’s pretty good going. However, in February, Windows 10 went back into reverse gear, losing share, and not for the first time. If you recall, back in September, Windows 10 was reported to have lost 0.46 percentage points. February’s drop, which sees the OS falling from 25.30 percent to 25.19 percent, a decline of 0.11 percentage points, isn’t as dramatic, but it’s still far from good news for Microsoft.

 

[Ranulfo]

Given how OEM prices have dropped recently, they seem to be a bit worried or desperate. $94-99 for OEM W10 pro on amazon.

 

[GandraZz]

People vote with their valets, too bad that M$ has more money than sense. So all they see from this, that they need to force Win 10 harder.

 

[Galvin]

Great now we'll go back to windows 10 auto installing on windows 8

Its sick how hard MS pushed this OS

 

[JRUHg]

but but DX12

 

[T_A]

No worries , Intel 7th gen and up will effectively kill Win 7 sooner than later.

 

[Jim Kim]

I hate to see XP losing market share, such a venerable old workhorse. Or am i thinking about Windows 7.

 

[cyclone3d]

People vote with their valets, too bad that M$ has more money than sense. So all they see from this, that they need to force Win 10 harder.

Hmmm.. that is interesting... unless you are in CA and your valet is an illegal immigrant.

 

[Trimlock]

Hmmm.. that is interesting... unless you are in CA and your valet is an illegal immigrant.

It is said that valets are very competitive, its hard to find one that won't compete for your top dollar.

 

[tetris42]

Don't worry, it will swing back around once they kill support for 7. That's the advantage of having a monopoly.

 

[Spidey329]

Given how OEM prices have dropped recently, they seem to be a bit worried or desperate. $94-99 for OEM W10 pro on amazon.

Or just join the insider program and change the release channel to "release candidate".

You only see the major releases and it's free.

 

[the_servicer]

The consensus on this forum one year ago was that Microsoft would extend the free upgrade offer beyond Summer '16. That prediction turned out to be wrong.

 

[Emission]

I'm pretty sure their biggest customers (corporate) are gonna hang onto 7 long after support is dropped for it, just like many hung onto XP for the longest time (and still do!).

 

[c3k]

People vote with their valets, too bad that M$ has more money than sense. So all they see from this, that they need to force Win 10 harder.

Valets? Only the very wealthy vote with their valets.

 

[odditory]

Luckily, the Creators Update is right around the corner and should create upswing for W10 when it debuts in a couple of weeks.

I haven't seen any evidence that the Creators Update will create any upswing. I've followed the insider builds and there really isn't anything significant in there for desktop users.

I think it's pretty simple why people are leaving 10 and going back to 7: data collection. forced updates. app bloat. advertising. cortana that can't actually be turned off without hacks.

Until Microsoft provides off switches for all that crap - and not just a fake "Off" where its hidden from view but still lurking in the background, Windows 10's fall will continue.

 

[ole-m]

I haven't seen any evidence that the Creators Update will create any upswing. I've followed the insider builds and there really isn't anything significant in there for desktop users.

I think it's pretty simple why people are leaving 10 and going back to 7: data collection. forced updates. app bloat. advertising. cortana that can't .

Until Microsoft provides off switches for all that crap - and not just "Off" until they turn it back on in the next update - Windows 10's fall will continue.

Off and removed to never come back!
Appx have been removed through re-occuring Powershell script with get-appxpackage * | remove-appxpackage
Appx applications disabled through policy.
Telemetry disabled.
Windows Defender and Firewall.
Advertisements and suggestions.
Cortana.
Notifications.

That's on top of my head and wasn't a GUI option that was "off" with updates.., I can't quite remember what was the last straw - But I was absolutely furious a while back - I dealt with the automatic upgrade from Win7 that removed all my installed applications but enough is enough!

 

[ManofGod]

Oh noes, Windows 10 is dying. No concern, Windows will be the dominant Desktop and Laptop OS for a long time to come.

 

[ManofGod]

I haven't seen any evidence that the Creators Update will create any upswing. I've followed the insider builds and there really isn't anything significant in there for desktop users.

I think it's pretty simple why people are leaving 10 and going back to 7: data collection. forced updates. app bloat. advertising. cortana that can't actually be turned off without hacks.

Until Microsoft provides off switches for all that crap - and not just a fake "Off" where its hidden from view but still lurking in the background, Windows 10's fall will continue.

Most folks do not care one way or the other, to be honest. They are not going back to Windows 7 so much as not replacing the computers they have. That said, there is plenty of older business software that only works with Windows 7.

 

[Nenu]

No worries , Intel 7th gen and up will effectively kill Win 7 sooner than later.

How do you see that happening?

The consensus on this forum one year ago was that Microsoft would extend the free upgrade offer beyond Summer '16. That prediction turned out to be wrong.

The free downgrade is still in operation.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I don't blame people.

I'm tempted to roll back to Windows 7 on an almost daily basis.

The most recent reason? Parental controls are gone from Windows 10, unless you want to tie your computer to an online Microsoft account, and create online Microsoft accounts for your kids.

Pisses me off to no end. There is no way a local machine should ever be tied to an online account. I refuse to have any computer in my in my house on my network with anything but local accounts only. The computer should not be interacting with any server or service ever, unless it is explicitly requested by the user (like logging onto a FTP server, or something like that)

I'm looking for some third party alternative software to do what Microsofts parental controls used to do. There has to be something, but my search has come up short. For now I'm resorting to physically controlling it, by maintaining physical control of the power cord, which Kiddo only gets when all homework is done.

 

[nutzo]

The consensus on this forum one year ago was that Microsoft would extend the free upgrade offer beyond Summer '16. That prediction turned out to be wrong.

Only partially wrong, since the upgrade is still free for people who use "assistive" technologies.

 

[ChefJeff789]

I'm pretty sure their biggest customers (corporate) are gonna hang onto 7 long after support is dropped for it, just like many hung onto XP for the longest time (and still do!).

My company still uses XP for legacy software support. They always will, as far as I can tell. When MS ended support, they just created a separate intranet for older machines. No access to the outside world = probably don't need future support ever again. I wouldn't be shocked to see them shunt the current Win 7 machines onto the same net whenever Nadella pulls the plug. I don't see us using Win 10 somehow...

 

[M76]

Only partially wrong, since the upgrade is still free for people who use "assistive" technologies.

It's basically still free just not advertised and no nag software anymore.
I could still activate windows 10 with a 7 key a few weeks ago without any assistive technologies.

 

[c3k]

The invasive requirement to use an ms account on a local machine is nonsensical.

 

[ghostwich]

I'm tempted to roll back to Windows 7 on an almost daily basis.

I'm one of the weird people that liked 8.1 (pro) and that's what I'm tempted to roll back to.

 

[leathco016]

I prefer Ubuntu, but I keep my gaming rig on Windows 10 just for gaming. Linux has gotten a LOT better for gaming, but there's still large gaps that will likely never be filled unless somehow Linux takes the home market (not likely anytime soon)

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I'm one of the weird people that liked 8.1 (pro) and that's what I'm tempted to roll back to.

8.1 wasn't bad with classic Shell.

I'd totally do it for the newer schedule and longer time until EOL.

 

[bigdogchris]

I pointed this out in the OS forum when it was brought up, but I suspect that businesses are continuing to shift away from XP and moving to 7. That explains the dip in XP, rise in 7.

The same thing that happened during the XP/Vista/7 era with businesses/consumers is now happening with XP/7/10.

Consumers are usually always on the latest version and businesses are 1 version behind. 8/8.1 was skipped by a lot of businesses (at least in my industry). Many businesses stayed on XP or 7 rather than move to 8, but are now almost being forced off XP.

 

[ghostwich]

8.1 wasn't bad with classic Shell.

I'd totally do it for the newer schedule and longer time until EOL.

Yeah I never suffered 8(.0) with its forced full-screen experience. I installed Windows 8.1 Pro, and it booted right to the desktop, it took me a while to understand why 8(.0) was so negatively received.

 

[Dead Parrot]

Folks are slowly becoming aware of all the spying going on on the Internet. Sure, the vast majority are blissfully unaware or don't care, but every time a story about a security breach hits the major media sources, or they or a friend or family suffers identity theft, a few more start caring and asking questions. Then they find out about all the wonders of Windows 10. And ask more questions. And often don't like the answers.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Yeah I never suffered 8(.0) with its forced full-screen experience. I installed Windows 8.1 Pro, and it booted right to the desktop, it took me a while to understand why 8(.0) was so negatively received.

I used 8.0 on my HTCP for a while before I moved to Kodi on Linux, and it wasn't bad for that application.

I wouldn't have liked it on my desktop though.

Either way. I have a Windows 8 Pro license. I upgraded it to Windows 10 during the free period, but I can still install it using my Windows 8 key if I stop using the Win10 install right?

Will the 8 -> 8.1 upgrade still pop up window Windows or will it try to coax me back to Win 10 again?

 

[Nashligo]

8.1 wasn't bad with classic Shell.

I'd totally do it for the newer schedule and longer time until EOL.

When you live in a world where Windows 8.1 is now retrospectively considered "not that bad".

I have 7 on my main laptop and 8.1 on my Surface 3. A co-worker was showing me Windows 10 on his Surface 4 and I was very turned off to how awful it looked for fingering. The start panel is fine on a touch device.

 

[SparkedFire]

The consensus on this forum one year ago was that Microsoft would extend the free upgrade offer beyond Summer '16. That prediction turned out to be wrong.

I believe entering a Windows 7 key while installing Windows 10 works.

The invasive requirement to use an ms account on a local machine is nonsensical.

This is not a requirement.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I believe entering a Windows 7 key while installing Windows 10 works.


This is not a requirement.

Not a strict requirement no, but they do their best to hide the "local account only" option when you install it or create a new account, and they have removed lots of previously standard features that were usable with local accounts, and moved them to the Microsoft webpage requiring a Microsoft account.

Why on earth should I have to go to an external website to manage features of my local machine?

It is absolutely insane, and more of Microsoft's unethical strong arm tactics to force people into an ecosystem they DO NOT WANT.

They may have programmed the operating system, but it is MY computer. Not theirs.

 

[Advil]

The in place upgrade from within windows did expire. However you may still install windows 10 for free with your windows 7 or 8 license, including embedded keys, when installing from scratch. I do them every day. They never turned it off and I doubt they will anytime soon. So there's a good reason to use those old keys to claim your new OS soon.

 

[tetris42]

They may have programmed the operating system, but it is MY computer. Not theirs.

Challenge accepted.

 

[LBJM]

8.1 wasn't bad with classic Shell.

I'd totally do it for the newer schedule and longer time until EOL.

Desktop mode works just fine I enjoy the quick access to device manager and disk manager.

Off and removed to never come back!
Appx have been removed through re-occuring Powershell script with get-appxpackage * | remove-appxpackage
Appx applications disabled through policy.
Telemetry disabled.
Windows Defender and Firewall.
Advertisements and suggestions.
Cortana.
Notifications.

That's on top of my head and wasn't a GUI option that was "off" with updates.., I can't quite remember what was the last straw - But I was absolutely furious a while back - I dealt with the automatic upgrade from Win7 that removed all my installed applications but enough is enough!

Windows 10 adds cortana, but the procedure is the same for 8.1

I'm one of the weird people that liked 8.1 (pro) and that's what I'm tempted to roll back to.

It's not weird at all!
Cpu Performance for both single and multi threaded processes is very good in windows 8.1 compared to windows 7, but only downside to windows 8.1 is al the spyware you have to disable. Spybot Anti-beacon is a very good app for a quick fix till you want to dig deeper into it.

 

[dandirk]

Not a strict requirement no, but they do their best to hide the "local account only" option when you install it or create a new account, and they have removed lots of previously standard features that were usable with local accounts, and moved them to the Microsoft webpage requiring a Microsoft account.

Why on earth should I have to go to an external website to manage features of my local machine?

It is absolutely insane, and more of Microsoft's unethical strong arm tactics to force people into an ecosystem they DO NOT WANT.

They may have programmed the operating system, but it is MY computer. Not theirs.

I personally LIKE the integration and actually wish it was a bit more seemless, especially with onedrive (option to just back up whole profile). Being able to rebuild your system and just login to have configs/settings come right back down is nice imo.

Something to try: install windows while network isn't connected... I believe you will automatically be prompted to setup a local account during setup. At least this is what happened to me just yesterday when I built a new system, once up and running device manager was missing Ethernet drivers (odd since it was a intel nic).

 

[dippin griz]

Valets? Only the very wealthy vote with their valets.

Dude is probabny using a Dvorak key layout where the "v" is next to the "w". I'm going through the same growing pains.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I personally LIKE the integration and actually wish it was a bit more seemless, especially with onedrive (option to just back up whole profile). Being able to rebuild your system and just login to have configs/settings come right back down is nice imo.

Something to try: install windows while network isn't connected... I believe you will automatically be prompted to setup a local account during setup. At least this is what happened to me just yesterday when I built a new system, once up and running device manager was missing Ethernet drivers (odd since it was a intel nic).

Yeah I understand that some people (maybe even most?) like the integration.

I don't have a problem with all this being made an option, but when they don't allow you to completely disable it, or trick you into creating an account, or hold certain features hostage until you sign up, that is just not cool.

The people at Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves.