Microsoft reports Windows 11 nears 75% share as Windows 10 phases out after five months.

StatCounter’s latest figures show Windows 11 now commands 72.78 % of the global desktop OS market, up sharply from just over 50 % in late 2025, while Windows 10 has fallen to 26.27 % – a steep decline from the 45 % share it held at the same point last year and the more than 80 % dominance it enjoyed during its peak, Tom’s Hardware reports. The surge coincides with Microsoft’s decision, announced five months ago, to end support for Windows 10, a move that appears to have accelerated migration despite the operating system’s historically higher adoption rate.

The rapid shift is not solely the result of user choice. Tom’s Hardware notes that many former Windows 10 users are upgrading hardware rather than simply switching the OS, a trend amplified by Microsoft’s aggressive push for Copilot‑enabled devices since the summer of 2024. The company’s hardware requirements—particularly the need for TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and newer CPUs—have forced a sizable segment of the installed base to replace aging machines in order to meet Windows 11’s baseline specifications. This hardware churn, rather than a clean‑cut OS upgrade, explains much of the near‑three‑quarter market penetration.

User friction remains a significant factor in the transition. Tom’s Hardware highlights two persistent barriers: the mandatory Microsoft account for initial setup and the strict hardware eligibility checks, both of which have driven many users to seek workarounds or to abandon the platform altogether. The outlet also points out that Microsoft has been tightening those workarounds, effectively limiting the ability of users to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. Consequently, a portion of the decline in Windows 10 usage is attributable to users migrating to alternative operating systems such as macOS or various Linux distributions, rather than moving directly to Windows 11.

The upgrade path has been further complicated by a series of problematic updates. According to Tom’s Hardware, recent Windows 11 patches have introduced issues ranging from minor UI glitches—such as a missing sign‑in password icon—to more serious faults, including reduced performance on Nvidia discrete GPUs, unintended BitLocker recovery prompts, loss of control in the Windows Recovery Environment, and, in extreme cases, complete boot failures after security updates. Microsoft pledged earlier this year to address the most disruptive bugs, but the outlet cautions that the effectiveness of those fixes remains to be seen.

Analysts see the 75 % share figure as both a milestone and a warning sign. While the numbers confirm that Microsoft’s “upgrade‑or‑replace” strategy is delivering the intended market shift, the accompanying user dissatisfaction and the rise of competing platforms suggest that the company’s dominance is not unassailable. As Windows 11 continues to mature, its long‑term success will likely hinge on how quickly Microsoft can resolve the update instability and ease the onboarding experience, lest the momentum it has built over the past six months begin to erode.