Surprise Windows 10 boost is seriously bad news for Microsoft's Windows 11

There's now less than 18 months until Windows 10 is consigned to the history books with this popular operating system losing access to free updates and official support from October 2025. You'd think that this fast-approaching deadline would have Windows 10 users rushing to download Windows 11 but it appears the exact opposite is actually taking place.

Surprise new figures from the team at Statcounter, show that Windows 10 usage actually grew slightly in April whilst Windows 11 numbers dropped.

The figures show that last month, Windows 10 had a 69.89 percent share of the market - up from 69.07 percent.

Windows 11 meanwhile had a 26.19 percent share - that's down from 28.16 percent in February 2024. It's unclear why this gap has grown and these are not official stats from Microsoft but it surely won't please the US technology giant one bit.

The Redmond company is desperately trying to get users to switch before next year's deadline and has even been employing tactics such as full-screen alerts aimed at nudging people over to its new Windows 11 OS.

Currently, there's no modification to Microsoft's official Windows 10 end life date but whether the company will be forced to change its mind remains to be seen. However, there are signs that Windows 10 may stick around for longer than originally planned.

One update recently announced is the option to pay for Extended Security Updates which be available until 2028.

It's been confirmed that this will cost businesses, $61 per year (£48) - we are still waiting on consumer prices to be revealed.

Announcing the boost to Windows 10, Microsoft's Jason Leznek said: "By now, you've probably heard that Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025," said

"You can enroll those PCs in the paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program. ESUs allow you to receive critical and/or important security updates for Windows 10 PCs when you need extra time to move to Windows 11."

Although Windows 11 is clearly offering more features and improved security, Windows 10 still appears to be leading the pack. It will be interesting to see what steps Microsoft takes next to get people switching before October next year.