Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7

Windows 10 made an impressive debut thanks to the free update deal offered by Microsoft to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users, but it did not take long for the initial growth to stall. Fortunately, the latest Windows version has finally managed to become more popular than the aging Windows 7 in two key markets - the UK and the USA.

At the end of 2016, Netmarketshare's numbers revealed that Windows 10 only controlled 24.36 percent of the global market, well behind the 48.34 percent still in Windows 7's possession. These figures are based on the number of unique visitors to websites and are balanced to include Asian markets as well. In China, Windows 10 adoption is still low while Windows XP continues to control a significant slice of the market.

On the other hand, Statcounter reports a global market share of 27.15 percent for Windows 10, but the figures in the UK and the USA place this OS on the leading position. These are the accurate numbers released by Statcounter:

• USA: Windows 10 31.44 percent, Windows 7 31.04 percent
• UK: Windows 10 38.86 percent, Windows 7 26.92 percent

According to ZDNet's Jack Schofield, Windows 10 will struggle to exceed the 36 percent mark in Netmarketshare's end of the year reports, with new PC sales being the main force behind the growth. The big question is how soon will Windows 10 be adopted in volume by the enterprise sector, but that will probably happen in mid-2018 or even later.