Windows 10 now runs on 900 million devices — still short of its 1 billion target

• Microsoft claims that Windows 10 is used on more than 900 million devices around the world.
  
• The number is still 100 million short of Microsoft’s 1 billion target that it was meant to achieve by mid-2018.
  
• One of the primary reasons for the growth is more users shifting from Windows 7 to Windows 10 after Microsoft announced it will end support for the older operating system by next year.
  

Windows 10 is now on more than 900 million devices globally. Microsoft has added more devices to its user base in a year than ever before, shared Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi on Twitter.



While Windows 10 devices include the Xbox, HoloLens and the Surface Hub — most of the installation is still on personal computers.

Falling short

It might seem like 900 million is a very large number, but Microsoft had originally forecasted that Windows 10 would hit the 1 billion mark mid-2018.

Come 2019, the company is still 100 million short.

The aim behind developing Windows 10 was for it have a common core. This would allow the operating system to run on multiple devices, with minor tweaks.

It also made the operating free for users looking to upgrade from Windows 7 and Windows 8.

But, smartphones with the Windows 10 operating system were waning in popularity. In 2017, Microsoft finally announced that it will be exiting the smartphone market citing losses and drop in market share.

In January this year, it finally killed off the last of Windows phone.

Climbing back to the top

In March, Microsoft disclosed that it had 800 million active devices with Windows 10, up from 700 million in September the previous year.

A primary factor for this growth more people moving from Windows 7 to Windows 10 after Microsoft announced it will be ending free support for Windows 7 on 14 January 2020.

Microsoft might finally hit its coveted 1 billion mark by the end of the year or early 2020.

See also:
Microsoft will stop updating Windows 7 in 2020, but it will start nagging you to upgrade to Windows 10 starting next month

Windows 10’s latest update has another bug - and it might keep you from being anonymous online

How to speed up your Windows 10 computer in 7 different ways