Windows XP’s end of support has done very little to harm its popularity

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by Radu Tyrsina 

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Windows XP's end of support has done very little to harm its popularity

According to data from NetApplications, Windows XP has seen a slight decrease in market share as of May 2014, while Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 are seeing a slight increase. Windows 7, on the other hand, has increased in share and has now surpassed 50%. Unfortunately, even though Windows XP has passed its end of support life, the 13 year old operating system still remains popular.

Windows XP, which ended support back in April, saw a slight decrease in market share to 25.27% (rounded to 25.3%). This is down from the previous month’s 26.29%. As you can see from the chart above, when comparing the market share of Windows XP between the months of March 2014 and May 2014, there is very little difference.

As of May 2014, Windows XP remains the second most popular operating system, right behind Windows 7. People just wont give up the old operating system. Millions of offices are running Windows XP on their computers. Hundreds of millions of ATMs are also booting the embedded version of Windows XP. Another worrisome thing is that several hospitals and healthcare facilities are even running Windows XP. This risks the confidential information of hundreds of thousands patients. In fact, around 50% of computers in China are still booting to Windows XP. 

So how long will it take for Windows XP’s market share to die? Windows 8/8.1 is the next operating system to take over its place, but still has a ways to go in terms of market share. Only time will tell.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina Shield

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.