Windows 10 Version 1803 Surges to 90 Percent Usage Share
- Paul Thurrott
- Sep 27, 2018
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On the eve of the release of the next version of Windows 10, the current version is in use on 90 percent of compatible PCs out in the world.
“Obviously, there isn’t much room for the April 2018 Update to grow anymore, but it still added almost 3 percent to its share over the month,” AdDuplex notes in its latest report. That’s a reference to the fact that usage of this version of Windows 10 has grown in an unprecedented fashion, hitting 84 percent of all Windows 10 PCs out in the world in July, and then almost 87 percent in August.
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That “out in the world” bit, by the way, refers to the fact that AdDuplex uses Windows Store app advertising to measure usage. And many PCs, especially in the enterprise, don’t necessarily see a lot of Store app usage.
But AdDuplex’s data is consistent with itself, which makes these comparisons both accurate and interesting. So this next note surprised me.
“It is unlikely that April 2018 Update will reach the top level penetration of its predecessor, the Fall Creators Update,” the report continues. “Next month, we are likely to see the October 2018 Update in the mix and this means that it will start taking the market share from the April 2018 Update before it reaches 92+ percent share that the Fall Creators Update (version 1709) enjoyed back in April.”
In retrospect, this does make some sense: The only reason that Windows 10 version 1709 was able to exceed 90 percent share is that its successor, Windows 10 version 1803, was delayed. And that means that the delta between that release and Windows 10 version 1809 is likewise even shorter as a result.
In related news, Ad Duplex reports that the most recent Surface Pro model is now the second-most used Surface PC in the world, with 20 percent usage share, behind Surface Pro 4, with 31 percent share. The success of this format perhaps explains the otherwise lackluster Surface Go release this summer.
And here’s a final note: The successors to Windows 10 version 1803 and Surface Pro (2017) are expected to be announced if not released next week at a Microsoft event in New York. See you there!