Windows 10 shows signs of life despite Microsoft | Tech News

Microsoft formally ended assist for Windows 10 in October 2025, bringing a decade of the working system to a close. Although PCs with the software program put in will proceed to operate, with out the newest security patches, customers shall be left more weak to hacks and cyber threats than in the event that they improve to Windows 11.

Windows 11 was launched in 2021 and Microsoft affords it as a free improve to anybody with a Windows 10 PC. But, as famous by Window Central, a unusual factor has occurred since Windows 10 was retired in October: world use of Windows 11 is in decline, whereas use of Windows 10 is on the rise.

That’s in accordance with the most recent numbers from Statcounter, which show Windows 11 had a 55.18 % share of the worldwide Windows market in April, the best it has ever been. However, this determine fell to 53.7 % in November 2025, after which again to 50.73 % in December.

At the identical time, Windows 10 dipped to 41.71 % in October, earlier than rising to 42.7 % in November after which 44.68 % in December.

Given Windows 10 has been given its full finish of life standing and Windows 11 is being provided as a free improve, you’d have thought the numbers would have gone in reverse instructions since October, however that doesn’t seem like the case.

Statcounter is a service that does what it says on the tin. It doesn’t present causes as to why the stats are as they’re, which implies we are able to solely speculate. But it is extremely notable that Windows 10 ought to the truth is begin to rise in use the very month it has been retired.

It’s doable people nonetheless on Windows 10 have opted to hitch Microsoft’s Extended Security Update (ESU) programme that gives one other yr of security updates till 2026.

Windows 11 has additionally had a powerful begin to 2026, with experiences lately confirming a bug that stopped PCs from shutting down or being put in sleep mode, in addition to the overall creep of AI into the faces of customers within the kind of Microsoft Copilot.

There was even confusion when some thought Microsoft had rebranded Microsoft Office because the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, just for people to understand that solely coated a particular use case of Office companies, not the general branding itself.

This is all to say, shoppers seem like considerably disheartened by Microsoft’s push to Windows 11 in any respect prices, particularly if these clients are nonetheless utilizing Windows 10 computer systems and resent being informed to improve – as a result of, in case your machine can’t deal with Windows 11’s system necessities, you is perhaps confronted with having to buy a entire new PC simply to have up so far software program.

Whatever the explanations people are leaving Windows 11 and persevering with to make use of Windows 10, it is going to be attention-grabbing to see the place the market share between the 2 working systems sits by the tip of 2026.