Windows 11 usage share continued to rise in February 2022

The usage share of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system continued its rise in February 2022 according to AdDuplex. The usage share of newest version of Windows 10, Windows 10 version 21H2, increased as well.

Third-party services track usage share changes of operating systems, as Microsoft does not release usage information. The numbers that the services provide are not exact: sources and methodology differ. While that is the case, they do provide information about trends.

Windows 11 jumped from 16.1% of all tracked systems in January 2022 to 19.3% of all systems in February 2022. The newest version of Windows 10, version 21H2, increased its usage share from 12.1% in January 2022 to 21% in February 2022. Previous versions of Windows saw a drop in usage share accordingly in that time.

A sizeable number of devices still run versions of Windows 10 that are no longer supported. Windows 10 version 2004 is on 7.9% of all systems according to AdDuplex's pie chart, even though it reached its end of support in June 2021.

AdDuplex's numbers are provided by about 5000 Microsoft Store applications that use the company's SDK. Microsoft Store is only available for Windows 10 and 11.

Statcounter, a company that provides counters for websites, reports jumps in usage share for Windows 11 as well. Last month, the company saw Windows 11 at 2.6%. This month, Windows 11 was at 7.88% according to the company. Windows 10 is still the dominating Windows operating system with a market share of 75.44%. Statcounter tracks hits on sites that use its counter scripts.

Closing Words

Both usage share tracking services saw an increase of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system: a 3.2% jump recorded by AdDuplex and a 5.28% jump recorded by Statcounter. The figures are still apart, with AdDuplex seeing Windows 11 at a usage share of 19.3% and Statcounter the operating system at 7.88%.

Microsoft unlocked the operating system as an upgrade to all compatible devices in January 2022.

Windows 10 version 21H2 made an even bigger jump according to AdDuplex. The new version of Windows 10 jumped by 9.9% to 21%, speeding past Windows 11 in the process. The most used operating system version is still Windows 10 version 21H1 according to AdDuplex.

These figures need to be taken with a grain of salt, as they are not accurate. The trend is clear, however. Windows 11 continues to rise, and so does the latest version of Windows 10.

It will be interesting to see how far Windows 11 will rise in the coming years, considering that a sizeable, but not specified, part of all Windows devices are not compatible with the operating system. Windows 10 will run out of support in 2025, and many Windows devices may be stranded because of the differences in system requirements.

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