According to Statcounter, Windows 11 held a 55.18% market share in October 2025. That share dropped to 53.7% in November and dropped again in December. Now, Windows 11 holds a 50.73% market share.
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide
Many are rollback to Windows 10, but Linux is increasing as well.
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide
Clickbait bullshit.
The source shows that Windows 11 usage has been steadily climbing for a long time, including in January - the latest data available - but presumably that didn’t fit their narrative so they ignored all the data except the data single point that they liked which corresponds to the month where every business shuts down for a week.
Statcounter shows that not only is Windows use increasing, but also that Windows 11’s share is too.
I don’t expect anyone here to be happy about these things - I certainly can’t say I am - but pretending the Windows is in the middle of an epic downfall when it actually appears to be doing fine won’t help anyone except Microsoft.
How do they measure these stats?
They aren’t reaching into my PC so they’re only checking when I [X].
So it isn’t it always just measuring “Os percent from user who [X]”
E.g. Steam only check people with Steam. Slash Dot can only going to measure PCs who go to Slashdot. AOL.com is only checking Boomers.
Why write this article in January when it’s main source shows an increase of 12% again in that month?? If anything this article should be about how statscounter is a very unreliable metric. Honest journalism really is dead huh.
Because a ton of people got new devices for Christmas with Win 11 pre-loaded. Prior to that, Win 11 adoption rates were declining. It’s highly likely that future results will show Win 11 adoption continues to slide.
I highly doubt 12% of the pc market got a new laptop for Christmas. But maybe a lot of corporations got new pc’s for the 2026 budget to phase out windows 10? I still I find a 12% jump huge, especially in the current RAM shortage climate.
Doesn’t seem that crazy. I usually got about 4-8 years out of my laptops. So a little over 10% turn over makes sense to me statistically.
That’s why I liked the “misleading?” tag mods can add to Reddit posts, it’s a good anti clickbait tool.
It looks like Linux high in the last 12 months was about 12 months ago. It seems to be holding steady rather than growing. “Unknown” is growing the fastest.
I imagine this is why MS is finally backtracking a bit on the aggressive pushing of AI in every app. They’re doing Clippy all over again, but OS-wide this time.
Just impressive how hard they managed to screw the pooch here. Have they forgotten that every other Windows release is universally hated? They had a good thing going until they discontinued Windows 10 before Windows 12 was out. Now they’ll probably need to rush out another version, because the name Windows 11 is forever tainted.
The thing that’s driving me away from windows is how pushy it’s gotten. Forced updates, ads, AI, OneDrive, and subscriptions. I just want to be able to turn on MY computer and do what I want or need without having my guard up that I can’t trust my home PC with my privacy.
Windows 11 is ok, but is frustrating to use and I can’t trust it not to screw with settings and there seems to be something annoying added instead of something useful with every update. I also hate the Settings menu, it’s like an unhelpful layer between you and Control Panel the eventually will take you to the same place but took 5 more clicks and searching through drop downs for a link to what you needed.
I finally kicked Windows after 30 years because I have to use windows 11 for work, and it fails at almost everything an operating system should be. Search doesn’t work right. Applications don’t work right. Basic UI is buggy and inconsistent. It’s the most expensive piece of software I use. Using 2 cores and 7GB of RAM at idle is unacceptable for an operating system. It’s the equivalent of running Skyrim all the time in the background. It actively tries to undermine my privacy, and instead of using that data to enhance my UX, it spams targeted ads at me in my fucking taskbar. Windows 11 is basically a SmartTV in terms of privacy and functionality at this point. It actively gets in the way of you using the hardware, and to no tangible benefit. Worse, it’s become clear that Microsoft recognizes this, and is actively pursuing and expanding the capabilities, with no intent to make a good OS in the future.
I’m out.
+1. I ragequit windows when it reinstalled Teams during an OS update, just after i uninstalled it.
Win10 LTSC IOT has support until like 2032, and doesn’t have any of that pushy bullshit. It’s free to pirate btw.
This is the way
Eh, if you’re not able to make the jump to linux ig.
Derrr
Lemmy tells me it’s more user friendly than ever.
Every forced update is 5 minutes of hassle for each login. If you work from multiple PCs, it’s a nightmare.
Do you have a source for that backtracking about AI? I think they did not mention that explicitly. Instead they were talking about unrelated improvements. The CEO is still in denial about AI bloat. He seems unable to comprehend that people don’t like to be force fed AI everywhere across the OS.
They’re not in denial. They know no one wants it. They all do. They just don’t care because pretending like they do is extremely profitable in the fucked up modern economy we live in.
The first time I heard the “every other” theory I was sceptical but it has held true for a very long time now.
They might do an 8.1 and mess with some features (remember when they had to bring back the tool bar)? But another release is likely needed to fix some of the Win 11 performance and bloat issues now.
They’ve cut too deep, for some good reasons, but at the cost of making everything slow.
^ Note I haven’t even talked about AI here.
It isn’t even just the performance and bloat issues or the AI.
As you hinted, Windows 11 made a lot of changes to the UI. I can’t think of a single change made which I liked as someone who has had to deal with Windows since before 95. Windows 11 felt like a downgrade from Windows 10.
You’ve got a lot of managers with purchasing authority who developed a ton of muscle memory on old Windows. The new UI changes have made Windows feel alien enough that you can’t use retraining costs as an excuse to keep with Windows.
I liked Clippy. I hate AI
📎I see you are nostalgic for your youth and how programs were tools and not spyware to track and target you. Maybe I can help with that 👮♀️👮♀️👮🏽👮🏽🚓🚓🚁🚁
Windows 11.1 anyone? lol
Windows 11.1.1 for desktops?
It’s not just AI, W11 is slow and unfriendly in general
Windows 11 market share went from 55% on October 2025 to 62% on January 2026. That’s an increase of 7 percentage units, not a drop of 5 percentage units.
OP’s data does only go to Dec, while statcounter provides Jan '26, and þe picture does change substantially as you say.
Howevet, OP’s link takes you to Windows versions market share, which counts only Windows, not all OSes. Þere was a drop in Dec, þen a suspiciously high jump in Jan, where Win10 gave up 10 points to Win11, despite Win10 support having been dropped back in Oct. Like a billion people suddenly decided to change versions Jan 1.
If you scroll down to All OSes, þe picture looks different.
Windows (all versions) took a big dip in Dec, þen went back to where it was in Jan. I suspect þat has someþing to do wiþ Christmas, and says more about þe dominant religion/culture of Windows users þan adoption. Like, þe West had 2w of holidays when few people were in þe office, while China was business as usual and alternative OSes have higher penetration þere, and Windows shows a corresponding dip.
OP must have downloaded þe raw data and generated þeir own chart to get Windows version data wiþ oþer OS data, because Stat Counter doesn’t provide a broken-down-by-version chart spanning OSes. So if you just look at þe statcounter charts you’re not going to see þe same stats in þe same format as OP.
Alternative headline: Linux market share increased by 30% from november to january!
It’s an article about Microslop, and therefore, a good place to mention that if you’re stuck using Windows for whatever reason, O&O ShutUp will help you turn off its invasive features and delete Copilot.
Ditched windows 10 for ubuntu when end of life was announced and haven’t looked back.
Really hope windows market share has peaked and it’s all downhill from here. Totally done with their BS.
They’re approaching the trust thermocline, where the pain of leaving is smaller than the pain of staying.
Perhaps we may finally head back to the 80s when the computer industry last had competition. The fact Commodore has come back was a sign
It should have been very simple. Don’t install that crap. Keep it safe and secure by design, but no. Then after installing, at any time, you should be able to select the “AI” versions of programs and deselect if you don’t want it anymore. Want AI in your Notepad [Check On->Install Notepad.AI]. Want AI in your calculator [Check Off]. Want AI in your File Explorer [Check On–>Explorer.AI]. Want AI in your Email [Check Off]. Want advertisements and “recommendations” [Check on --> Annoyances.AI]. Want to reset every setting after an “update” [Check Off]. Want to upload all your personal folders to the MS servers [Check On–> Cloud.AI, Surveillance.AI, AllYourShitBelongsToUsNow.AI]. Should not be hard… but it is. What a waste.
Can’t give the consumer a choice if you can’t explain why they need it. “Gathering data on you” doesn’t sell well.
