Amid the slow death of Windows 10, Microsoft's CEO reveals a bold stat about Windows 11

Windows 10 has nearly run its course, and new data from Microsoft shows more people are moving to Windows 11. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Maybe not precisely on October 14, 2025, but at some point soon, Windows 10 will become a security risk.

That date is when Microsoft will stop supporting the operating system, and it will not patch any new vulnerabilities. If you’re still using Windows 10 at work, your IT department will most likely not allow you to use the OS any longer.

All of this will hasten the death of Windows 10, which has been slowly dying since Windows 11 debuted in October 2021.

Windows 11 on a laptop — Windows 11 has been out since 2021, but in October, support for its predecessor ends. A new stat on Windows 11 adoption shows many are making the bold choice to leave Windows 10 behind. (Image credit: Getty Images/ Beata Zawrzel)

The death of Windows 10 has been slow because, as Laptop Mag has reported often over the years, Windows 10 users are raging against the dying of the light.

There are myriad reasons for keeping Windows 10 instead of Windows 11, and in the words of Laptop Reviews Editor Rami Tabari, “You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t displeased with Windows 11 in some shape or form.”

But with each new update, Windows 11 gets better and better, and the data shows that more people are making the switch. StatCounter, a site that tracks various data, showed that in April 2024, Windows 10 usage accounted for 70% of Windows users. A year later, it accounted for just 54% of Windows users.

And this week, Microsoft revealed a statistic that demonstrates just how bold the change to Windows 11 has been in the past year.

“We continue to see increased commercial traction as we approach end of support for Windows 10. Windows 11 commercial deployments increased nearly 75% year over year,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Tuesday. ("Commercial deployment" is finance-speak for "units sold and switched on," essentially.)

Windows 11...increased nearly 75% year over year."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

The comments came during Nadella’s remarks to investment analysts after Microsoft released its earnings report for the third quarter of its 2025 fiscal year.

While Windows is top of mind for many PC users, as a revenue earner for Microsoft, it's pretty small. In the 2024 fiscal year, Windows revenue made up just 9% of the company's $245 billion.

The growth of Windows 11 has been steady since its launch in October 2021. In its 2023 annual financial report, released in July 2023, Microsoft noted that the number of devices running Windows 11 had doubled in the previous year.

Wait — what does Copilot think about Windows 10?

If you ask Copilot, Microsoft’s generative AI app that comes included with many Windows 11-enabled laptops, why Windows 10 hangs on for so many so close to its end-of-support date, the reasons are apparent.

For one, if you have an older computer, it may not run as efficiently or at all with the Windows 11 operating system.

Other, more OS-focused reasons – such as quibbles about the Start menu and control over system updates – keep people on Windows 10.

What's next for Windows 11?

If you haven't upgraded or it’s your first time with Windows, know that it's free to upgrade to Windows 11 if you have Windows 10. However, there's a non-monetary cost: it will require more of your RAM and memory.

Your system requirements, if not up to spec, will put a choice in your hands: stick with Windows 10 and risk a security vulnerability, or buy a new laptop.

Windows 11 rolls out updates to features in the second half of every calendar year and monthly security updates.

Each new update includes information from all previous updates. Microsoft released the most recent security update on April 25, and, as the name suggests, the 24H2 version of Windows 11 was released in the second half of 2024, specifically in October 2024.

The Windows 11 25H2 release window is rumored to be between September and October. As reported by Windows Central, Microsoft started testing 26200 series builds in March, a precursor to 25H2, with developers.