Windows 11 continues to grow among users, even though most still prefer Windows 10

As expected, Windows 11 continues to grow in the desktop operating system market, with the advantage of being the only operating system you can buy with a new computer or laptop. Despite the fact that Windows 10 still has software support from Microsoft, and will have support until 2025, which will likely be extended beyond that date, it will certainly continue to decline in monthly usage reports, as old computers are constantly being replaced with new ones, and upgrading to 11 is free.

Windows version rankings don’t see much change in early 2023

According to Statcounter, Windows 11 managed to reach 18.12% of all Windows computers accessing the sites its service tracks in January 2023. This makes it the second-largest of all Windows versions, and still behind Windows 10. Since the last report we looked at, in November, Windows 11 has increased by 2 percent, while Windows 10, has decreased by one percent, from 69.74 percent of the total, to 68.86 percent.

The other versions of Windows also remained at a low level of use. Windows 7, once the most popular operating system, which has remained popular despite the release of newer versions, has declined sharply in recent years with the transition to Windows 10. Now, only 9.6% of users still use it. Incidentally, this number could drop rapidly in the coming period, as Windows 7 no longer receives any updates from Microsoft, so recently discovered vulnerabilities will no longer be covered. Windows 8.1 comes in behind at 2.3%, while Windows 8 is used by only 0.6% of users.

Barely visible in the rankings, on the “waterline” is Windows XP, an operating system more than 20 years after its release. It is still used by 0.45% of computers monitored.