Windows 10 on 75M Devices with 1B Target by 2018

According to Microsoft, 75 million devices are already running Windows 10. That's an impressive total, though the company still has a long way to go to hit its target of one billion users within the first three years.

The figures came in a series of Twitter posts by Yusuf Mehdi, the Microsoft executive responsible for marketing Windows. The 75 million figure comes just under a month after Windows 10's release, with 14 million downloads alone on launch day. (Source: windows.com)

It's hard to compare the Windows 10 early adoption rate with Microsoft's previous operating system. While Windows 8 had 60 million users after three months of its launch, it's important to note that those numbers only account for users who paid for the upgrade or purchased a new computer with Windows 8 pre-installed on it. On the other hand, many of the 75 million users that account for Windows 10 are most likely early adopters eager to switch to the latest system, without waiting for widespread feedback on how it works in the real world.

Windows 10 Truly Worldwide

Mehdi also posted some other statistics, though most of them weren't very illuminating. For example, he noted that people have downloaded Windows 10 in 192 countries. That sounds impressive, but in reality the nature of the Internet means most websites of any size will get at least one visitor from that many countries, let alone a free download of one of the most widely used pieces of software.

He also noted that the average user has downloaded six times as many applications from the Windows Store as happened with Windows 8 (presumably over a comparable time period).

App Store The Main Key To Growth

That's the real key to the figures as Microsoft wants to create a virtuous circle. The more people that have Windows 10 and download apps, the more developers will bother making applications suitable for the Windows Store (rather than the traditional direct download and installation model). In turn, more apps will make the system -- and using the Windows Store -- attractive enough to get more people installing it.

As good a start as Microsoft has had with Windows 10, it's still far short of its previously discussed target of one billion devices running the system by 2017 or 2018. To reach that it will need to achieve several goals, including: having enough positive feedback that more people decide to download it; the new PC sales market holding up or even growing; and the forthcoming launch of Windows 10 for mobile devices such as tablets exceeding or meeting user expectation. (Source: gizmodo.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Are you impressed by the 75 million download figure? Do you think Windows 10 is performing better or worse than you expected among ordinary computer users? Is one billion devices running the system a realistic target?