Windows 10 stats: 75 million devices, 6x more app downloads per device

So how is Windows 10 doing? Microsoft has been rather tight lipped until now about the operating system's overall distribution and related figures. The only figure that Microsoft released was that Windows 10 was running on more than 14 million devices after the day the operating system launched.

Almost every person I talked to agreed that the free upgrade offer helped fuel the usage share rise of Windows 10 significantly but without official figures, it was not possible to compare it to the performance of previous versions of Windows.

This changed yesterday when Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group, went on a Twitter writing spree and posted information about the operating system.

According to him, Windows 10 has been installed on more than 75 million devices almost one month after launch.

How does it compare to previous versions of Windows?

Microsoft sold 100 million Windows 7 and Windows 8 licenses in the first six months after launch. If you consider Windows 10's current performance, it is clear that it will beat those easily.

One needs to take into account though that Windows 10 is offered as a free upgrade while Windows 7 and 8 were only offered with discounts in the beginning.

It is clear that the free offer is giving Windows 10 a headstart and that it will -- very likely -- beat both previous versions of Windows when it comes to usage share in the foreseeable future.

Windows Store

Mehdi revealed that Windows Store application downloads are six times higher per device on Windows 10 than on Microsoft's previous operating system Windows 8.

It is unclear if Windows 8 includes Windows 8.1 or if Windows 8 downloads have been counted exclusively.

It is clear nevertheless that users seem to use the Store more than on Windows 8. Considering that the apps offered in Store are nearly identical to those offered on Windows 8, it is unclear why that is the case.

Microsoft launched a re-designed Store in Windows 10 (which I don't like a lot due to limitations in regards to discovering new applications) which may have contributed to that as it puts the focus on high quality apps.

Remaining

The remaining "fun facts" are not nearly as interesting:

1. Windows 10 is running in 192 countries.
2. More than 90,000 unique PC or tablet models have upgraded to Windows 10.
3. Including some devices from 2007.
4. More than 122 years of gameplay have streamed from Xbox One to Windows 10 devices.
5. 10 million achievements unlocked: Microsoft Solitaire Collection, Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition.
6. In response to "tell me a joke", Cortana has told over half a million jokes since launch.
7. Over 2000 organizations vying to win the global partner slot in 'UpgradeYourWorld.

Now You: