Microsoft has confirmed that the next major Windows 10 update, the Fall Creators Update, will begin rolling out on October 17, while the free upgrade period for Windows 10 S will stretch until March 2018. But that doesn't seem to be enough. Despite Redmond's efforts, Windows 7 still holds between 45 and 50 percent of the market, and we see similar resistance on Steam, the only environment where Windows 10 is actually leading.
Any user can find Windows 10 to be a good operating system, as long as they're willing to work on it to strip away the clutter. Unfortunately, Microsoft never understood that, and even its latest updates seem to contradict a basic idea: sometimes, less is more. The so-called Fall Creators Update begins its adventure on October 17, and to be honest, it's hard to find anything critical or exciting about it. Advanced users will see it as an extra service pack, install it, and then proceed to trim the excess with a scalpel (read: PowerShell). The alternative is to "downgrade" to Windows 7, and though its implementation pains are extensive, it's clear that a significant portion of the market still holds it in high regard.
Market Share Data Tells the Story
The numbers from NetMarketShare are particularly striking: 48.43 percent of users remain on some version of Windows 7, while Windows 10 can't break past 28 percent. On the other side, StatCounter gives Windows 10 a much more favorable position at 37.87 percent, but its records show Windows 7 with more than 45 percent of the market.
Other data that certainly deserves our attention comes from Steam: There, Windows' dominance is absolute, with a 96.3 percent share. Across the global total, Windows 10 x64 claims 50.03 percent, up 0.44 percent, but Windows 7 x64 shows a 35.01 percent adoption, advancing more than two points last month.
The Looming Windows 7 Deadline
Windows 7's extended support ends on January 14, 2020. Microsoft has just over two years to work in the user's favor and develop a strategy that avoids the transition chaos we saw with Windows XP (which, by the way, still holds 6 percent of the market). Aggressive adoption hasn't worked. The artificial blocking of updates hasn't worked either. Windows 10 gained barely seven percent since its free offer "ended" – which came through Windows 8.x users. Redmond needs to react, or Windows 7 will be "the next XP".
