Windows 11’s growth has officially hit a brick wall — and users appear to be fleeing back to Windows 10

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I’ve been watching the desktop operating system market, and it’s been quite a shift. Windows 11 actually overtook Windows 10 for a while, becoming the most popular choice. But now, it looks like Windows 10 is poised to reclaim the lead, and Windows 11 might soon fall behind.

It’s still unclear if Windows 11’s market share will continue to decline, as it’s only decreased for the past two months. However, those recent drops have been substantial.

In October 2025, Windows 11 was used on 55.18% of computers, according to Statcounter. Usage declined slightly to 53.7% in November and continued to fall in December. Currently, Windows 11 runs on 50.73% of computers.

This represents a drop of over 5% in just two months. Even accounting for potential inaccuracies and the fact that this isn’t official data from Microsoft, it’s a significant change.

Between October and December, Windows 10’s popularity grew from 41.71% to 44.68%. However, despite this increase, Windows 10 is still not as widely used as it was earlier in the year.

Interestingly, Windows 7 saw a significant increase in popularity, growing its market share from 2.52% in October to 3.83% in December.

Why is Windows 11 losing market share?

Statcounter just reports the numbers and doesn’t explain why Windows 11’s popularity has decreased. However, the timing of this drop is hard to overlook.

Over time, more and more people switched to Windows 11, and by June 2025 it became more popular than Windows 10. However, it took longer than anticipated for Windows 11 to surpass its predecessor.

Microsoft strongly encouraged users to switch to Windows 11, especially as support for Windows 10 was ending. They used methods like displaying prominent upgrade notifications and even created a special tool to help people move their data and settings from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

Windows 10 stopped receiving updates and support on October 14, 2025, unless users paid for continued support.

I don’t believe the end of support for Windows 10 is directly why Windows 11’s popularity hasn’t grown since October. Rather, it seems ending support for Windows 10 brought more attention to Windows 11, and many users weren’t impressed.

“Windows is Ruining New Laptops”

In 2026, Windows 11 finds itself in an interesting position. While it’s a robust and reliable operating system used by hundreds of millions, our Editor-in-Chief, Daniel Rubino, believes its biggest challenge isn’t a lack of features, but rather a lack of user trust.

Windows 11 has gotten off to a rough start in 2026, with a particularly troublesome Patch Tuesday update. This update has caused several issues – including problems running applications and even shutting down computers – forcing many users to revert to older versions of Windows 11.

Microsoft’s decision to share BitLocker encryption keys with the FBI upon request is further damaging public trust.

I’ve noticed a lot of negativity surrounding Windows 11 lately, especially as we’ve moved into 2025. It seems like more and more ads are being added directly into the operating system, and people are getting really annoyed with the constant push to use AI features. It’s definitely impacting how the public views the system.

I recommend reading Rubino’s piece in full. Here’s a snippet to give you a taste of his insight:

People aren’t resistant to change itself, but they strongly dislike being caught off guard. They want to be included in the process and feel informed. It’s frustrating to find familiar features have been moved, altered, or removed without any notice – like unexpected changes to the Start menu. What really bothers users is the feeling that their operating system is increasingly becoming a platform for unwanted Microsoft services.

The trending hashtag “Microslop” isn’t a positive sign for a major tech company like this one.

More and more people are voicing their concerns about Windows 11. Initially, these complaints appeared on online forums, Reddit, and X, but now they’re also being shared by popular influencers and tech reviewers.

I recently watched a video by Dave Lee, who many know as Dave2D on YouTube, and it really got me thinking. He argues that while the actual hardware in new laptops is generally pretty good, Windows 11 itself is holding them back. I’d recommend checking out the full video if you’re interested – it lays out his reasoning really clearly.

Cale Hunt expressed a similar feeling earlier this year, noting that while PC hardware is currently excellent, Windows isn’t keeping pace with its advancements.

As an analyst, I’ve been tracking Windows 11’s performance, and it’s clear the operating system has seen a decrease in market share recently. While there isn’t one single major problem, it seems like a combination of many smaller issues – bugs, glitches, and eroding user trust – are collectively holding it back. It’s less about a critical failure and more about a lot of little things adding up.

No matter the specific reasons, it doesn’t reflect well on Microsoft that its main operating system is losing popularity to one that’s no longer supported.

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2026-01-27 17:42