Windows 11 is approaching half of a billion devices

Microsoft hasn’t really been open about the adoption rate of Windows 11, but we’ve been able to glean that it’s been pretty slow. Many people flat out don’t want the operating system on their computers. However, according to a new leak, it seems that the operating system is picking up some momentum. Windows 11 is currently on more than 400 million devices.

The adoption rate of new software is always slow at the start. Many people opt to wait a bit before installing, as to avoid the growing pains. Also, as newer operating systems fall into our laps, older and less powerful devices fall out of compatibility. So, a ton of potential adopters can’t get the update because their computers can’t handle it.

So, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Windows 11 had trouble gaining traction among Windows users. What made things worse was that Windows 11 had some pretty high spec requirements. So, it was moving along at a snail’s pace.

However, Windows 11 is on more than 400 million devices

Until now, we’ve been in the dark about how well Windows 11 was doing. But, nothing stays a secret forever. According to a leak from Windows Central, Windows 11 is doing better than we thought. The new operating system launched back in October of 2021, which makes this a convenient time for this leak to come out. It’s been able to reach north of 400 million monthly users in the span of about two years.

That’s still sluggish compared to Windows 10 which hit the 400 million mark just a year after its unveiling. However, 400 million is still nothing to scoff at. We can attribute some of the growth to the new Windows 11 computers hitting the market.

Windows 11 is on track to reach 500 million users by early 2024. As more computers become available with Windows 11, we will see this number continue to rise.

But, there could be something else down the pipeline

However, the future of Windows 11 is pretty uncertain, as there are rumors that Microsoft is planning on launching Windows 12 next year. If this is true, then it could be quite a shake-up. The rumors say that Microsoft is working on a major refresh for next year, and it was pretty much confirmed by Intel. This, in tandem with previous rumors that Windows 12 is coming in 2024 definitely makes us confident that this is happening.

The reason for this change isn’t completely known, but most believe that it has something to do with AI. Microsoft has been going bananas with its AI effort after the introduction of ChatGPT. It’s gone so far as to integrate generative AI into Windows 11. However, it could be possible that Microsoft wants to bring a new operating system that’s built from the ground up for AI. This new operating system could be Windows 12. There’s still a bunch of time to wait before we get any official information, so you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt.