14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 was launched in October 2013 in order to correct some of the annoyances in Windows 8, including the removal of the Start button, and since then, Microsoft has tried to promote it on every single occasion in an attempt to boost its market share.
But statistics show that Windows 8.1 only increased its share at a steady pace, and yet, not fast enough to have an impact on Windows 7’s market share and become the most-used desktop operating system in the world.
In October 2014, one year after its launch, Windows 8.1 had a market share of 10.92 percent, while Windows 7 already reached 53.05 percent. At the same time, Windows XP was still the second most-used OS worldwide with 17.18 percent.
Windows 8.1 started the year with 10.04 percent, while Windows 7 continued its growth and reached 55.92 percent. As you can see, Windows 8.1 barely changed its market share as more time passed by, despite the fact that more Windows 8 users actually upgraded to this new version.
In June 2015, Windows 7 set its very own record, achieving a share of 60.98 percent, while Windows 8.1 also achieved its best share since launch - 13.12 percent. Unsurprisingly, as Windows 10’s launch date nears, more people switch to these two OS versions, trying to benefit from the free upgrade to the new operating system available for both Windows 7 and 8.1 computers running a genuine version.
