The mystery of 400 million Windows computers 'disappearing'

The number of computers worldwide is on a downward trend. Photo: Bloomberg .

In a June 25 post about its plans to end support for Windows 10, Microsoft said its operating system is now used on more than a billion monthly active devices. The last time Microsoft released similar data was in January 2022, when it said there were more than 1.4 billion monthly active Windows 10 and 11 devices.

That number has grown from 1.3 billion in just one year. That means that in just over three years, about 400 million Windows devices have disappeared from active records, a clear sign that the PC market is in decline.

According to experts, the main reason comes from changes in consumer behavior. Instead of upgrading old devices, users are switching to smartphones, tablets or more compact devices for daily needs. Families that used to own multiple PCs now only use a single device.

“Make no mistake, this is not a guess. When a senior Microsoft executive announces a number like this, it is important data that affects the market,” said ZDNET author Ed Bott.

The PC market was already stagnant before the pandemic. Covid-19 gave the industry a temporary boost, especially in 2022 when PC sales exceeded expectations by more than 130 million units. But that peak didn’t last long. Today, both the Windows PC market and Mac sales are in decline.

Historical data from Microsoft once showed that there were about 1.5 billion active Windows PCs worldwide. However, that number has not changed in years. Experts estimate that the replacement rate is now much lower than the rate at which PCs are discarded, meaning that the number of active devices has actually dropped dramatically.

In that context, Microsoft has focused more on enterprise and cloud computing. Xbox and Windows now account for a smaller portion of the company's total revenue compared to services like Azure and Microsoft 365.

Source: https://znews.vn/bi-an-400-trieu-may-tinh-windows-bien-mat-post1563716.html