A little over a year ago, Microsoft set a lofty goal of having 1 billion devices running Windows 10 within two or three years of the operating system’s release. Now that aspiration is in doubt.
Microsoft said in a statement that Windows 10 is currently on more than 350 million monthly active devices but the company likely won’t be able to get to the 1 billion number by 2018. Microsoft remains confident it will eventually hit its 1 billion device goal.
“Windows 10 is off to the hottest start in history with over 350M monthly active devices, with record customer satisfaction and engagement. We’re pleased with our progress to date, but due to the focusing of our phone hardware business, it will take longer than FY18 for us to reach our goal of 1 billion monthly active devices. In the year ahead, we are excited about usage growth coming from commercial deployments and new devices – and increasing customer delight with Windows.”
The statement was first obtained by ZDNet.
Microsoft has been offering Windows 7 and 8.1 users a free upgrade to Windows 10, but that will end July 29. Customers will have to pay $119 to upgrade to Windows 10 Home and $199 to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.
Terry Myerson, the company’s operating systems chief, said at least year’s Build conference when he announced the goal “no other platform version, in any ecosystem, is available on 1 billion devices.”
