More than 1.3 billion devices are running Windows 10

A little over a year ago, Microsoft reported Windows 10 has finally reached 1 billion active devices. Since then, the pandemic has been actively contributing to the growth of the PC market. As a result, Windows 10 managed to increase its install base significantly.

During the latest earnings call with investors, the CEO of Microsoft revealed that Windows 10 now runs on more than 1.3 billion devices, which is 300 million devices more than a year ago. The rapid growth of the install base also affected Microsoft's earnings. The company says Windows 10 OEM revenue went up 10% year over year. Surface computers also benefited from the sharp spike in PC demand and grew 12% compared to a year before.

Microsoft originally planned to hit the 1 billion Windows 10 devices mark in July 2018, but the Windows Phone demise crippled the company's plans. Microsoft had to acknowledge the fact that it will not be able to achieve the set goal. Eventually, it took Windows 10 more than four and a half years to accumulate a billion devices.

It is worth mentioning that this figure includes not only regular desktop PCs. You can find Windows 10 on desktops, laptops, tablets, phones (although very few of them are still running), Xbox consoles, IoT devices, Surface Hubs, and HoloLens.

Windows 10 install base is the only official figure from Microsoft about its operating system usage. As for market fragmentation, the only source of relatively accurate information is Adduplex and its monthly reports. Yesterday, the company published the April 2021 report, revealing that Windows 10 20H2 now holds 40% of the market on par with Windows 10 2004. After Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 version 1909, the 20H2 release significantly increased its market share and went up by 10%. You can read more about the latest data from Adduplex here.