Take Windows 11... please. Leaks confirm low numbers for Microsoft's latest OS
(2023/10/18)
- Reference: 1697642886
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/10/18/take_windows_11_please/
- Source link:
Windows 11 is consistently failing to capture hearts and devices, if recent figures are to be believed.
First reported in [1]WindowsCentral , active device usage of the operating system has apparently inched past the 400 million mark, according to an internal Microsoft document that leaked. This is far behind that of Windows 10 at the same point in the operating system's lifecycle.
While Microsoft has yet to formally comment on the number – this hack is currently at the company's London Envision event, which is swarming with staffers, none of whom want to talk about the success, or otherwise, of Windows 11 – it follows the same trend seen in other usage statistics.
[2]
Earlier this month, [3]Statcounter figures put Windows 11 usage still some way behind Windows 10. As a reminder, Windows 10 took approximately two years to overtake the previous dominant player, Windows 7. Windows 11 (launched October 2021)… not so much.
[4]
[5]
Apologists for the operating system's performance would point to the very different conditions under which the software was launched. Windows 10 came on the back of the disastrous Windows 8 and 8.1 editions – as Windows 7 followed the self-inflicted catastrophe of Vista – and benefited from all manner of user encouragement from Microsoft. Occasionally, this included the OS [6]slithering , unwanted, onto user devices.
Other than occasional nags, Windows 11 has not been forced down the throats of users of Windows 10 in quite the same way.
[7]
Windows 11 isn't a particularly bad version of Windows by any stretch of the imagination. Some elements of the user interface might grate a little, and there will always be users for whom one design choice or another will be loudly rejected – there were those, after all, who raged at the imposition of the Start Menu over the Program Manager of old. But the operating system itself is... fine.
Which, in a nutshell, is the problem. Windows 11 is simply OK. There's nothing particularly wrong with it except for its hardware requirements.
[8]Go ahead, let the unknowable security risks of Windows Copilot onto your PC fleet
[9]It's 2023 and Microsoft WordPad can be exploited to hijack vulnerable systems
[10]Microsoft says VBScript will be ripped from Windows in future release
[11]Microsoft Cortana's farewell tour comes to the Windows Insider program
Indeed, with a vague assurance that things would be more secure, Windows 11 at launch required updated hardware – including recent CPUs – that necessitated many users to purchase new kit. When faced with choosing between the perfectly acceptable Windows 10 or splashing the cash on new hardware for Windows 11, users shrugged, and so Windows 11 has languished.
It has been some time since Microsoft released official figures around Windows usage, but the latest leak has confirmed the operating system continues to trail its predecessor. Windows 10 has just under two years left of updates before Microsoft intends to pull the plug, meaning Windows 11 has considerable ground to catch up in a constrained hardware market.
Unless the company blinks and keeps Windows 10 support going for just a little longer. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/exclusive-windows-11-is-active-on-almost-half-a-billion-devices-ahead-of-microsofts-expectations
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/05/win_11_penetration_still_low/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2015/09/10/windows_10_forced_download
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/microsoft_expects_it_pros_to/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/october_2023_patch_tuesday/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/microsoft_says_vbscript_will_be/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/06/microsoft_cortana_leaves_insider_builds/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
First reported in [1]WindowsCentral , active device usage of the operating system has apparently inched past the 400 million mark, according to an internal Microsoft document that leaked. This is far behind that of Windows 10 at the same point in the operating system's lifecycle.
While Microsoft has yet to formally comment on the number – this hack is currently at the company's London Envision event, which is swarming with staffers, none of whom want to talk about the success, or otherwise, of Windows 11 – it follows the same trend seen in other usage statistics.
[2]
Earlier this month, [3]Statcounter figures put Windows 11 usage still some way behind Windows 10. As a reminder, Windows 10 took approximately two years to overtake the previous dominant player, Windows 7. Windows 11 (launched October 2021)… not so much.
[4]
[5]
Apologists for the operating system's performance would point to the very different conditions under which the software was launched. Windows 10 came on the back of the disastrous Windows 8 and 8.1 editions – as Windows 7 followed the self-inflicted catastrophe of Vista – and benefited from all manner of user encouragement from Microsoft. Occasionally, this included the OS [6]slithering , unwanted, onto user devices.
Other than occasional nags, Windows 11 has not been forced down the throats of users of Windows 10 in quite the same way.
[7]
Windows 11 isn't a particularly bad version of Windows by any stretch of the imagination. Some elements of the user interface might grate a little, and there will always be users for whom one design choice or another will be loudly rejected – there were those, after all, who raged at the imposition of the Start Menu over the Program Manager of old. But the operating system itself is... fine.
Which, in a nutshell, is the problem. Windows 11 is simply OK. There's nothing particularly wrong with it except for its hardware requirements.
[8]Go ahead, let the unknowable security risks of Windows Copilot onto your PC fleet
[9]It's 2023 and Microsoft WordPad can be exploited to hijack vulnerable systems
[10]Microsoft says VBScript will be ripped from Windows in future release
[11]Microsoft Cortana's farewell tour comes to the Windows Insider program
Indeed, with a vague assurance that things would be more secure, Windows 11 at launch required updated hardware – including recent CPUs – that necessitated many users to purchase new kit. When faced with choosing between the perfectly acceptable Windows 10 or splashing the cash on new hardware for Windows 11, users shrugged, and so Windows 11 has languished.
It has been some time since Microsoft released official figures around Windows usage, but the latest leak has confirmed the operating system continues to trail its predecessor. Windows 10 has just under two years left of updates before Microsoft intends to pull the plug, meaning Windows 11 has considerable ground to catch up in a constrained hardware market.
Unless the company blinks and keeps Windows 10 support going for just a little longer. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/exclusive-windows-11-is-active-on-almost-half-a-billion-devices-ahead-of-microsofts-expectations
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/05/win_11_penetration_still_low/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2015/09/10/windows_10_forced_download
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZTABLAiCY3jXn@ldYbPtWgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/microsoft_expects_it_pros_to/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/october_2023_patch_tuesday/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/microsoft_says_vbscript_will_be/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/06/microsoft_cortana_leaves_insider_builds/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Costs
keithpeter
Quote from OA...
"Which, in a nutshell, is the problem. Windows 11 is simply OK. There's nothing particularly wrong with it except for its hardware requirements."
In the case that existing hardware can't run Windows 11, many smaller public sector organisations are faced with significant replacement costs. Budgets are under pressure at the moment and that is likely to get worse.
There's nothing particularly wrong with it except for its hardware requirements.
pluraquanta
The Microsoft account requirement gets a pretty hard 'Nope!' from me. Yes there are technically ways to circumvent this, but Microsoft has gone out of its way to try to play whack-a-mole with these, so it's clear where their intentions for the future of the OS and our role in that lie.
Re: There's nothing particularly wrong with it except for its hardware requirements.
43300
On the Pro version this isn't difficult to avoid, although they don't make it obvious - select that it's a work computer, then domain join (it doesn't actually join it to a domain!) then it prompts for creation of a local account.
I did notice recently that the latest W11 installer stopped and refused to go any further if it didn't have an internet connection. Didn't have time to look for workarounds but there ay well be some.
Yep, agree with the article. W11 isn't that bad and can be made more palatable by configuration, but it offers no clear advantages over W10.
What's the betting that next year will see a new version which removes some of the more annoying W11 changes (centred taskbar icons, fake-Teams, etc), and they push that hard as a W10 replacement?