Windows 10 May 2020 Update finally becomes the most-used version – but it’s too little, too late

Windows 10
(Image credit: Future)

Windows 10 May 2020 Update has finally clawed its way to become top of the rankings of the various versions of Microsoft’s desktop OS, going by the latest stats from AdDuplex.

However, the May 2020 Update only crept up a few percentage points during the month of October. AdDuplex’s latest report shows it having reached 37.7%, which is up only 4% from the 33.7% figure that the update recorded in September.

That’s not much higher in the great scheme of things, particularly when you consider that from August to September, the May 2020 Update made a sizeable jump of 9.6%. Although even then, it was still behind the curve compared to previous upgrades, as we discussed in detail last month.

Of course, during the course of this month, the October 2020 Update – the successor to the May 2020 Update – came out, and already grabbed 1.7% of the market (AdDuplex’s stats are compiled with data gathered from Microsoft Store apps, incidentally, with a sample size of over 100,000 Windows 10 PCs).

Peak usage

We can, of course, expect the pace of the rollout of the October 2020 Update to accelerate considerably throughout the remainder of the year, and the May 2020 Update has doubtless now hit its peak. And a pretty unimpressive peak compared to the historical adoption rates of Microsoft’s various updates, it has to be said.

Especially when you consider that the upgrade to the October 2020 Update is a very swift and easy one – simply flicking an enablement switch – for existing May 2020 Update users, so they will likely be upgrading in short order. And of course, those who are still on last year’s Windows 10 updates will skip straight to the October 2020 Update anyway…

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Latest in Windows
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
Acer Aspire 14 AI laptop display showing the Windows 11 login screen
Shock, horror – I’m not going to argue with Microsoft’s latest bit of nagging in Windows 11, as this pop-up is justified
A laptop on a desk with the Windows 11 background on its screen.
Microsoft is adding image editing and compression to its Windows Share feature - and I couldn't be happier
AOC Agon Pro AG276FK gaming monitor tilted slightly to the side, showing the Windows desktop screen
Windows 11 users get ready for more ‘recommendations’ from Microsoft – but I’m relieved to say these suggestions might actually be useful
Microsoft Store logo on a blurred background
There's finally a fix for an annoying Microsoft Store bug that's older than Windows 11
Portrait of African-American teenage boy studying at home or in college dorm and using laptop, copy space
Windows 11’s Notepad gets AI-powered ‘Rewrite’ feature, but not everyone’s going to be happy about it
Latest in News
Two Android phones on a green and blue background showing Google Messages
Struggling with slow Google Messages photo transfers? Google says new update will make 'noticeable difference'
Elayne, Egwene, and Nynaeve dressed regally and on horseback in The Wheel of Time season 3
'There's a reason why we do it': The Wheel of Time showrunner responds to fans who are still upset over the Prime Video show's plot alterations
Google Pixel 9
Android 16 could bring an improved Samsung DeX-style desktop mode to more phones
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Nvidia could unleash RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti GPUs on PC gamers tomorrow, but there’s no sign of rumored RTX 5050 yet
AI writing
ChatGPT just wrote the most beautiful short story, and I wonder what I'm even doing here
Google Chrome dark mode
Google updates Chrome extension rules to ban affiliate link injection without user action or benefit