Windows 10 resists its end: usage share climbs while Windows 11's falls

[harlan4096]

Next month, Microsoft is ending support for home editions of its Windows 10 operating system officially. While users may extend support by one year -- business customers get three -- the number of users who will take up Microsoft's offer is unclear. The extension is more or less free, as you get it as a consumer when you enable the backup functionality during the signup process. There is even a tool for that that lets you do all that with a local account and as little interaction as possible.

Recently, Windows 11, the successor of Windows 10, has been gaining traction. While it led the leaderboard of the most popular operating system on Valve's highly influential Steam gaming platform for some time, it passed Windows 10 at Statcounter's monthly OS popularity ranking in July for the first time.

Being newer and with the advantage that its main competitor is on its last months of support, one could predict the trend easily. Windows 10 usage declines naturally, as users start to migrate to Windows 11, if their devices are compatible, upgrade by bypassing compatibility checks, or buy entirely new PCs.

But in August 2025, stats reversed seemingly, at least according to Statcounter. Windows 11 usage dropped by four points from 53 percent to 49 percent. Windows 10's usage jumped three points to 45 percent. Even the out-of-support Windows 7 operating system jumped by 1.5 points to more than three percent usage, according to Statcounter.

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