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More Users Sticking with Windows XP than Upgrading to Windows 11

By Laura Tucker
Windows 11 Windows Xp Featured3

As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That seems to be the words to live by for many PC users. Not only do they not jump to upgrade to new Windows versions, but some also don’t do it several times over. A recent study showed that more users still use Windows XP than Windows 11.

Also read: Things to Do Before and After Installing Windows 11

Slow to Upgrade to Windows 11

Windows 11 was released last fall, yet only 1.4 percent of users upgraded to it. Windows XP was introduced in August 2001. That’s a month before the 9-11 tragedy. I had children in grade school then – they are now adults. My only mobile phone was a bag phone in my car, and I was using a Bondi Blue iMac.

A Landsweeper survey showed that there are even more Windows 7 users than either XP or 11. There are 1.71 percent XP users and 4.7 percent Windows 7 users. But most users have at least upgraded to Windows 10 – but only 80.34 percent.

Windows 11 Windows Xp Pc

Much of this can be attributed to Microsoft making it difficult to upgrade to Windows 11. There are very stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11. Frankly, if you’re still using Windows XP, you’re unlikely to upgrade your hardware to something manufactured in the last few years so that you can use Windows 11.

Once again, Lansweeper has some data on this. In the consumer space, half the PCs in use cannot upgrade to Windows 11. Looking at businesses, only 44.4 percent of workstations were able to upgrade.

Microsoft did relax some of its stringent upgrade rules. However, this requires a manual install and a registry hack. This, of course, leaves users leery of upgrading. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that the manual upgrade will lead to a Windows 11 upgrade, making it risky. Without that security, there would be no benefit to that upgrade.

Also read: Watermarks to Start Appearing on Unsupported Windows 11 PCs

Slowing PC Sales

In addition to the more stringent hardware rules, PC sales have also been slowing down. There was an extreme demand during the pandemic. With so many people working from home and studying remotely, consumer PCs faced a shortage.

But everyone who needed a new system bought it already or have since returned to the office. There were fewer PCs sold in the first quarter of 2022 than in 2021, leaving Windows users unlikely to buy new hardware right now just for Windows 11.

Windows 11 Windows Xp Work

However, data released by IDC believes that the data will increase later. “We have witnessed some slowdown in both the education and consumer markets, but all indicators show demand for commercial PCs remains very strong,” explained IDC. “We also believe that the consumer market will pick up again in the near future.”

This could be due to shortages in China. Many Chinese manufacturers have gone back to pandemic shutdowns, unlike other countries that are easing protocols. So users are most likely holding back on upgrading to Windows 11, whether using Windows 10, Windows 7, or Windows XP.

With all these upgrades going on, are you curious about what happened to Windows 9 after updates from 7, to 8, to 10, to 11? Find out what happened to Windows 9 and how to how it’s reflected in Windows 11.

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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