The latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, Windows 10 , has broken a new record. As announced by the Redmond company, the platform would already be present in 1 billion devices and computers that are active each month.
Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of modern life, search and devices at Microsoft, communicates the milestone in a Windows blog post: “We are pleased to announce that more than 1 billion people have chosen Windows 10 in 200 countries, resulting in more than 1 billion active Windows 10 devices. We couldn’t be more grateful to our customers, partners and employees for helping us get here. “
This data would mean that one in seven people on the planet is “planning, creating, devising, executing, moving, shaking and doing great things with Windows 10”.
Microsoft has been evolving with its operating system. At first it released a version every three years, but it has been varying to the release of several versions per year. Mehdi underscores how the company has strived to make Windows 10 “an open, inclusive and accessible platform that enables everyone to achieve their goals.”
In 2015 Microsoft had set a goal of having 1 billion active devices running Windows 10 at some point in 2018 , yet the tech giant was overly optimistic with its plans. The firm led by Satya Nadella has had to wait two more years than planned to reach this goal.
The progression of the operating system in recent years would have been that of 100 new million devices every semester. In September of last year, Microsoft reached 900 million active computers and in March 2019, just a year ago, it had exceeded 800 million.
Remember that Windows is not only present on PCs, but can also be found on tablets, Xbox consoles, mixed reality glasses and other devices.
“Freedom of choice has always mattered to us, because we know that it is important to you. Windows 10 is the only operating system at the heart of over 80,000 different laptop and 2-in-1 models and configurations from over 1,000 different manufacturers . But that is not all. Windows 10 also powers mixed reality and HoloLens, transforming the way people build, design, learn and experience the world around them, “says the head of Microsoft.
Bill Gates, even less present at Microsoft
The announcement of the 1 billion active devices with Windows 10 each month has come a few days after Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft with Paul Allen and former CEO of the house, communicated his decision to leave the company’s board , of which he was still a member.
Gates has made this choice to devote more time to philanthropy and the foundation he owns with his wife, Melinda. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is involved in numerous humanitarian projects and recently even announced that it would donate tests for the coronavirus to the citizens of Seattle.
Despite his departure from the board, Gates has offered to continue serving as a technical advisor should current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella need him.
