Microsoft: Windows 10 Hits 1 Billion Active Devices

By Noah Long ● Mar 18, 2020
  • This week, Microsoft revealed that there are now 1 billion active Windows 10 machines. These are the details about the milestone

This week, Microsoft revealed that there are now 1 billion active Windows 10 machines. The 1 billion figure includes desktops, laptops, Xbox consoles, and the HoloLens mixed reality headsets.

“Today we’re delighted to announce that over one billion people have chosen Windows 10 across 200 countries resulting in more than one billion active Windows 10 devices. We couldn’t be more grateful to our customers, partners, and employees for helping us get here,” wrote Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Modern Life and the Search & Devices Yusuf Mehdi in a blog post on Monday. 

One of the last time Microsoft revealed its active device numbers was about a year ago. In March 2019, Mehdi said that Windows 10 was active on over 800 million devices. And in September 2018, Windows 10 was active on about 700 million devices.

Windows 10 was originally introduced in the middle of 2015. And Microsoft originally had a goal of hitting 1 billion devices within 3 years of the release. That goal was extremely ambitious, which is why it took a couple of years longer than expected. 

“Freedom of choice has always mattered to us—because we know it matters to you. Windows 10 is the only operating system at the heart of over 80,000 models and configurations of different laptops and 2-in-1s from over 1,000 different manufacturers. But that’s not all. Windows 10 also powers Mixed Reality and HoloLens—transforming the way people build, design, learn and experience the world around them,” added Mehdi.