However, hitting that number relied heavily on Microsoft selling 50 million Windows Phones in the year following the launch of Windows 10, which didn’t end up happening.
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If you are now using Windows 7 or 8.1 you have until 29 July to upgrade to Windows 10 for free – after that it will be around THB5,000. Turns out, Microsoft does realise the impact of the timeline, the target and the ability to meet the target under current market circumstances.
Seeing as we are in the last minutes before Windows 10 Anniversary update is signed off, it should come as a little surprise that there is a new build out for Insiders; this time around it is build 14390. Edge, which rolled out with Windows 10, replaces Microsoft’s previous browser, Internet Explorer.
My ZDNet colleague Ed Bott noted at the end of a blog post today that Microsoft officials still think they can hit the 1 billion Windows 10 market, but that “it’s unlikely to happen by 2018 as originally projected.” .
Microsoft had a splendid start with Windows 10 reaching 350 million monthly active devices.
In the past year the technology giant has slowed down its smartphone business and now says that this drop has made it more hard to get the new software on mobile devices such smartphones and tablets. In a recent statement, the company explains that sales of the phone unit have been rather low, so smartphones have dragged down Windows 10 adoption.
Earlier this year, Microsoft was vilified for changing the function of the red “X” on the Windows 10 update dialog box to initiate an upgrade instead of close the window. Microsoft first announced its estimate at its Build developers conference a year ago, publicly stating that it saw the goal as feasible.
However, in May this year, Microsoft announced plans to streamline its smartphone hardware business, impacting up to 1,850 jobs. The 1 billion mark was meant to be reached with Windows 10 running on a variety of devices like desktops, laptops, phones, tablets, gaming consoles and the like.
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The free upgrades probably account for the bulk of the 75 million devices now using Windows 10, said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy, although he said more new models will likely be sold this fall.
