StatCounter: Windows 10 fails to overtake Windows 7, but edges slightly closer

When StatCounter released its operating system usage share figures last month it showed the gap between Windows 7 and Windows 10 had narrowed significantly.

It looked, based on that data, as if the new operating system would overtake the old one during November, but surprisingly that didn’t happen.

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StatCounter’s figures always give Windows 10 a higher share than those compiled by NetMarketShare, and in October it showed the new OS on 40.95 percent, a mere 1.72 percentage points behind Windows 7 on 42.67 percent.

Given that Windows 10 share grew by 1.65 percentage points in October, and Windows 7 fell 1.32 percentage points in the same time frame, it seemed pretty certain that Windows 10 would take the top spot in November. So what happened?

Well, according to the latest StatCounter figures, Windows 10 only managed to grow by 0.41 percentage points, putting it on 41.36 percent.

Windows 7 held its ground, dropping a mere 0.16 percentage points. It’s on 42.51 percent.

The gap between the two operating systems has now narrowed to just 1.15 percent. Will Windows 10 overtake Windows 7 in December, providing the software giant with a welcome Christmas present, or will we have to wait until into the new year for that to happen? We’ll find out in a month’s time.

Elsewhere, StatCounter has Windows 8.1 on 9.03 percent, the same as in October, Windows 8 on 2.67 percent, down from 3.89 percent in October, and XP on 3.66 percent, after a drop of 0.23 percentage points.

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