Windows 8.1 Finally Overtakes Windows XP On The Desktop

We suppose out of all the Windows versions that have been released in the past decade or so, Windows XP and Windows 7 are probably some of the favorites. Windows Vista kind of bombed and Windows 8 was met with a rather chilly reception to, no thanks to its redesign which left many users confused on how to use it.

So much so that for a while there, Windows XP continued to outpace Windows 8 despite it no longer being supported by Microsoft. Well we suppose it’s about time that the platform started to catch up and according to the latest figures from Net Applications, it looks like Windows 8.1 has finally overtaken Windows XP in terms of marketshare on the desktop.

According to the numbers, Windows 8.1 is now command 13.12% of the market, versus Windows XP which is now sitting at 11.95%. Interestingly enough there are still some users running on Windows 8 at 2.9%. As for Windows 7, it looks like it is still the platform to beat as it is commanding a whopping 60.98% of the market.

This is unsurprising as it was found that Windows XP users who are finally making the upgrade are choosing Windows 7 over Windows 8. In any case Microsoft has taken a page out of Apple’s book and has offered free upgrades to Windows 10 for users with genuine copies of Windows 7 and 8.1, so with the upgrade being free, it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers Windows 10 will be able to command right out of the gate.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Computers
Tags: Microsoft, windows 7, windows 8.1, windows xp