Windows 10 hits 1.3 billion monthly active devices — the growth rate is staggering

Microsoft Windows 10 updates
(Image credit: SOPA Images / Contributor)

During Microsoft's recent Q3 earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella revealed Windows 10 has reached 1.3 billion monthly active devices — a huge jump from last year's number of users.

In March 2020, Microsoft hit the one billion monthly active devices milestone, meaning it's only taken a year for 300 million more users to adopt the clearly popular OS. At this rate, it doesn't look like it's slowing down. 

According to the earnings release, high demand for laptops and PCs helped Microsoft achieve $41.7 billion in revenue, an increase of 19%.

Along with this, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood stated the PC market stayed strong despite ongoing global chip shortages. It was also noted that Xbox Series X consoles were more affected by this compared to PCs. Although, that's hardly a surprise.

That said, the earnings showed Xbox content and services revenue increased by 34%. We have a feeling Xbox Game Pass played a hand in that.

In terms of Microsoft's Surface devices, the company reached $1.5 billion for the financial quarter — a 12% increase compared to last year.

“Over a year into the pandemic, digital adoption curves aren’t slowing down. They’re accelerating, and it’s just the beginning,” said Satya Nadella. "We are building the cloud for the next decade.

In March 2019, Windows 10 had reached 800 million active monthly users (courtesy of TechRadar), meaning Microsoft saw an increase of 200 million users from 2019 to 2020. While there has been an increased rate of user numbers this year, the COVID-19 pandemic plays a huge factor in this.

Windows 10 is dominating the PC market, according to market share stats by StatCounter. However, macOS is growing in popularity thanks to Apple's powerful M1 processors in recent MacBook models, but it has a long way to go before it reaches Windows 10's 1.3 million milestone.

(H/T ZDNet)

Darragh Murphy
Editor

Darragh Murphy is fascinated by all things bizarre, which usually leads to assorted coverage varying from washing machines designed for AirPods to the mischievous world of cyberattacks. Whether it's connecting Scar from The Lion King to two-factor authentication or turning his love for gadgets into a fabricated rap battle from 8 Mile, he believes there’s always a quirky spin to be made. With a Master’s degree in Magazine Journalism from The University of Sheffield, along with short stints at Kerrang! and Exposed Magazine, Darragh started his career writing about the tech industry at Time Out Dubai and ShortList Dubai, covering everything from the latest iPhone models and Huawei laptops to massive Esports events in the Middle East. Now, he can be found proudly diving into gaming, gadgets, and letting readers know the joys of docking stations for Laptop Mag.