Windows 11 may not be as popular as Microsoft had hoped

Windows 11
(Image credit: Microsoft)

The explosive growth seen by Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system over the past few months is beginning to slow, new figures suggest.

The latest report from AdDuplex shows that Windows 11 user numbers are levelling out, perhaps suggesting Microsoft needs to up its game with some new updates or additions to the platform soon.

For the month of March 2022, Windows 11 took just 0.1% market share from other editions of Microsoft's software, accounting for 19.4% of the overall usage, with a further 0.6% using a Windows 11 Insider build.

Windows 11 upgrade

The numbers show that, despite Microsoft's push to get users to upgrade to Windows 11, its previous edition is still holding strong for many consumers.

Of the 80% using Windows 10, the larger proportion were found to be using the two most recent update families. Windows 10 N21U (21H2), released in November 2021, had 28.5% of the overall market, with its slightly older sibling, Windows 10 M21U (21H1), released in March 2021, taking 26.5% of the share.

The remaining 25% was made up of various older builds dating back to 2018, indicating that Microsoft does still have some work to do in order to get a large number of users upgraded to its latest editions.

AdDuplex takes its figures from 5,000 Windows Store apps, so may not be entirely representative of the true market share, but the figures do appear to corroborate recent findings from Microsoft itself.

The company recently shared that 1.4 billion devices are running both Windows 10 and Windows 11, although it didn't reveal specific numbers for either build. 

This has posed a problem for some business users however, as recent research found that as many as a third of work laptops or PCs don't meet the minimum requirements to run Windows 11, with the lack of TPM 2.0 the main culprit.

The report from Riverbed added 19.45% of devices will need a storage upgrade, 11% will need to be upgraded to TPM 2.0 and 8% will need to be upgraded with UEFI - with 12% of work PCs needing to be replaced entirely.

Via OnMSFT

Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

Read more
Windows 11
Has the rush to upgrade to Windows 11 just begun? New stats show a marked uptick as Windows 10 End of Life looms later in 2025
A finger touching a screen showing the Windows 11 logo
5 reasons why I’m finally upgrading to Windows 11 in January
Windows 11 forced onto old hardware
Windows 11 is still my favorite OS, ads and all
Windows 10 Fail
I have good news and bad news about Windows 11 24H2’s new update: it introduces nifty features and fixes... but also includes another ad
Man having Windows 11 problems with his laptop
Fed up of adverts creeping into Windows 11? You won’t like Microsoft’s latest update, then, although it does provide some important bug fixes
Windows fail
It looks like Microsoft might have broken Windows 11 24H2 again as performance plummets with Intel's latest CPUs
Latest in Software & Services
A man sitting at his desk in the evening and using a desktop computer
Office 2021 vs Office 2024: is it time to upgrade?
Microsoft 365 Business app logos
Office 2024 LTSC vs Microsoft 365 Business: what are the differences?
Windows 11 Start menu layout choices: Grid view
Windows 11 vs Linux for business: which operating system should you embrace?
A phone sitting on a laptop keyboard with the Microsoft Outlook logo on the screen.
Gmail vs Outlook for business: which email system is right for your organization?
Windows 11 logo
Windows 11 Pro vs Windows 11 Home: which version is right for you?
Canva HubSpot
HubSpot and Canva team up to level the creative playing field
Latest in News
Data center racks with cables and servers
Data centers are being pushed to their limits, but digital twins could help
A collage of Tom Holland's unmasked Spider-Man and Sadie Sink's Max in Stranger Things season 4
Marvel reportedly casts Stranger Things star Sadie Sink in Spider-Man 4, but I don't want her to tackle the roles she's rumored to play
Google Gemini Robotics
Gemini just got physical and you should prepare for a robot revolution
Lilo & Stitch Official Trailer
Stitch crashes into earth and steals our hearts with the first trailer for the live-action Lilo & Stitch
GTA 5
GTA Online publisher Take-Two is gunning for a black market that’s basically heaven for cheaters
Y2K cast looking shocked
Y2K has a streaming release date on Max, so you can witness the technology uprising at home