Windows 10 Device Usage: New Surface Devices Hit the Charts

Windows 10 Device Usage: New Surface Devices Hit the Charts

They’ve only been available for purchase for a few weeks, but Microsoft’s new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop are already making a dent in the Windows 10 device usage charts.

As with previous months’ usage data, this month’s peek comes from AdDuplex, which bills itself as the largest cross-promotion network for Windows apps. AdDuplex empowers developers and publishers to promote their apps for free by helping each other. And each month it provides a glimpse at which Windows devices people are actually using.

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Here’s what we see this month.

New Surface Pro and Surface Laptop arrive with a bang. Though they shipped less than two weeks ago, the new Surface Pro (with 2.2 percent of usage) and Surface Laptop (with 0.4 percent) are already appearing in the Surface usage charts. Granted, these figures are still well below even the first (6.7 percent) and second generation (4.8 percent) Surface Pro devices. But they’re already ahead of the morbidly expensive Surface Studio (0.1 percent).

Yes, Surface Pro 4 still rules. Looking at the top of the Surface usage charts, we see Surface Pro 4 (43.7 percent of all Surface devices in use), Surface Pro 3 (22.6 percent), Surface 3, and Surface Book (7.2 percent) in the top four. And if you add up all Surface Pro devices, you get 80 percent. Toss in Surface 3 (arguably a low-end Pro) and you get 92.1 percent. Right: Over 90 percent of Surface devices in use are tablets.

Creators Update hits 35.7 percent. Creators Update usage has almost doubled month-over-month again, which I think speaks volumes to Microsoft’s new deployment strategy. It was at only 18 percent a month ago. (The Anniversary Update is still running on 58.3 percent of all Windows 10 devices.)

Surface Pro 3 is not getting the Creators Update very quickly. Looking just at Surface devices, AdDuplex sees a curious trend: Creators Update usage on Surface Pro 3 (22 percent) lags while behind the deployment on other Surface devices. One has to assume there is a driver-based issue there. But it’s odd that one of Microsoft’s own devices isn’t getting this update already.

 

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Conversation 9 comments

  • ezraward

    27 June, 2017 - 9:18 am

    <p>Yep, between the two Surface Pro 3 devices I use regularly (one personal, one work), neither has been offered the Creators Update. I should note that neither my personal desktop PC (Ivy Bridge era) or work desktop PC (Skylake era) have been offered it. But, strangely enough, my older work PC I use for consulting (Nehalem-based Xeon PC from 2009-ish) has been offered and been upgraded.</p>

    • Darmok N Jalad

      27 June, 2017 - 10:08 am

      <blockquote><a href="#132803"><em>In reply to ezraward:</em></a></blockquote><p>Out Lenovo Laptop at home hasn't gotten it either. Definitely a different beast than the classic launch day model. </p>

    • nbplopes

      27 June, 2017 - 5:18 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#132803"><em>In reply to ezraward:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>If MS does not bother updating both my SP2 and SP3 as advertised by the fantastic new update system of Windows 10 even after 5 months of release why should I bother? </p><p>I guess I'm getting old. There used to be a time when I was really interested in updating as soon as possible but somehow that worked against me all the time and don't have time or desire to play this game anymore. </p><p>So I even got into the Surface bandwagon thinking, "for sure this ones will have the latest and the greatest update soon instead of late". Well, we never know with MS. I already spent over $2000 in one unit, so they got my money already, why bother right? So the question is, will the ecosystem get my money again? </p><p>My policy is if the service provider updates my systems without hassle and the system works as expected, the service is good. If not, I have options. </p><p>Cheers.</p><p>PS: I respect that some people might not care for this and just buy a new device. But that is not the point. I don't want to buy $2000 devices every year or couple of years to get the latest and the greatest updates. Even if I could, I would not. Neither I'm available to do it out of band.</p>

  • MacLiam

    Premium Member
    27 June, 2017 - 10:32 am

    <p>I love the implications of the "infliction point" typo in Slide 5. Surely the AdDuplex team can't think the Creators Update is <em>that </em>horrible!</p><p>I haven't mentioned my misgivings about AdDuplex data for a few months, so I'll raise the core questions again. A sample set of about 5000 Windows users who are all part of a development and marketing community cannot be representative of the broad market for either the identified devices or the operating systems they run. I would expect new models to show up quickly in user communities with a professional interest in quickly evaluating their potential, but that notion cannot be confirmed because of ambiguities in the reporting.</p><p>Penetration of 0.4 percent for the Laptop means that about 20 Laptops were identified on survey day. Most of us could pick up that many in a milk crate and carry them around for extended periods. But I don't know if that means 20 individual laptops were identified, or that two different laptops each opened 10 apps that were part of the AdDuplex cooperative world. Is the company counting devices, or device contacts with the main interest of their organization?</p><p>The figure "about 5000" sounds reassuringly large, but it seems to include devices in both the mobile and PC/tablet classes. What are the proportions? 50/50? Two to one? One to Two? Some even more divergent proportion?</p><p>Companies like Facebook, Google and even Microsoft ought to have enormously detailed stats on the devices and operating systems that run through their servers every day. That's the kind of information that needs to be leaked to the enthusiast community if we are ever to have a reliable picture of real-world use of the products we all love.</p><p><br></p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      27 June, 2017 - 11:51 am

      <p><a href="#132838"><em>In reply to MacLiam:</em></a></p><p>It's worse. AdDuplex data is collected from 5000 Windows Store apps. That means we have a fairly limited sample population likely overwhelmingly populated by fanboys and fangirls, the MSFT/Windows equivalents of Apple's iSheep. Not exactly as base for generating statistically meaningful inferences. But this is the Internet where meaning is whatever anyone wants to dream up.</p>

      • robincapper

        27 June, 2017 - 7:33 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#132863"><em>In reply to hrlngrv:</em></a></blockquote><p>Agree, especially for a device like the "<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">morbidly expensive Surface Studio" (which is actually affordable for its intended audience)</span></p>

  • magicboy

    30 June, 2017 - 8:55 am

    <p>Why are the&nbsp;Surface Pro and Surface Pro 1 both listed?</p>

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