Microsoft gives up hope of a billion Windows 10 devices by mid-2018

[HEXUS]

The collapse of Windows Phone sales is probably the root cause of the missed target.

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[shaithis]

TBH, I always thought 10 billion was a bit of a stretch, fair play for the enthusiasm though

[Hicks12]

TBH, I always thought 10 billion was a bit of a stretch, fair play for the enthusiasm though

I think you meant 1 Billion . Agreed, was a bit of a stretch but certainly seems doable in a year or two after.

[virtuo]

I think a lot of those "Devices" are windows phones, which despite any qualities they may have, they have next to no market share. Andwith powerhouses like iOS and Android, isn't something another new OS is going to change.

I'd expect they are pretty much hitting estimates in the desktop/laptop space.

[realstock]

Looks like they need to take a couple of zeros of that estimate.

Surprised that their are any IoT devices running Windows. Kind of defeats the purpose running 'an unexpected error' prone OS on lightweight hardware. Surely stability is key!?

[DDY]

Looks like they need to take a couple of zeros of that estimate.

But MS have already hit 350 million active devices according to the article, removing even one zero from a billion means they've smashed the target!

[jezza9]

Although they're blaming the Windows Phone disaster for the shortfall, even if they were selling well it may have only added around 100-150 million to the total over 3 years.

Microsoft were really expecting Windows 7 and 8 users to come flocking to Windows 10 at the rate of probably 50+ million a month. When it was clear they weren't going to, the upgrade nags got worse in desperation.

[Saracen]

..... When it was clear they weren't going to, the upgrade nags got worse in desperation.

And an increasingly effective disincentive for many of us.

[peterb]

But MS have already hit 350 million active devices according to the article, removing even one zero from a billion means they've smashed the target!

A billion is 100,000 million (10^9) in general use age, although in the UK a billion can mean 10^12. So by either definition, Microsoft have a way to go.

[CampGareth]

A billion is 100,000 million (10^9) in general use age, although in the UK a billion can mean 10^12. So by either definition, Microsoft have a way to go.

Not quite, you're right on all but the every day usage, a billion is only 1000 million. 10^3 * 10^6 = 10^9 -> one billion.

[3s-gtech]

10^9 ≠ 100,000 million. A billion is either a thousand million (general use, 10^9) or a million million (10^12).

[RAJA666]

I could have added another 5 units to their total to date if the damn thing not bricked my 2 year old Asus laptop.

[DanceswithUnix]

They should have said "Squillion", then they couldn't miss

I do wonder if they will re-introduce the free upgrade shortly after it expires. I wonder where I am with motherboard failures in my existing PCs, some of which are getting on a bit. If a motherboard fails, I should still be able to go back to my old Win 7 OEM install as machine repair is always allowed, but will I be able to install 10 as the current install will be locked to the now dead motherboard? The numbers caught in that trap will probably be quite small, but it could be another thing to annoy me about Win 10 which so far has been a very mixed bag.

[CK_1985]

If they needed Windows Phones to succeed in order to hit this target then they should have put literally any effort at all into the App support.

The list of Apps not available on WP is never-ending, and those that do make it over are usually at least 6 months behind other platforms both in release date and updates - in many cases the Apps never get any updates at all.

Shockingly, i got an email this morning telling me that as of September the Amazon App will be 'retired' from WP, with no mention of ever intending to re-instate it. If that's not a sure sign that the platform is failing I don't know what is.

I really wanted WP to work - there's so much to like about it - but the lack of support from MS has killed it.

[DanceswithUnix]

I really wanted WP to work - there's so much to like about it - but the lack of support from MS has killed it.

I did wonder if the purchase of Mojang would be used to lure kids with "free Minecraft W10 edition" onto Windows phone as their first smartphone and hence a way of getting devices into households. For all I know Windows could be excellent on a phone, but even a cheap phone is quite a lot of money to take a punt with. But no-one in the house is asking, so no-one is getting one.

[peterb]

Not quite, you're right on all but the every day usage, a billion is only 1000 million. 10^3 * 10^6 = 10^9 -> one billion.

10^9 ≠ 100,000 million. A billion is either a thousand million (general use, 10^9) or a million million (10^12).

Thanks both - in my defence it was 4am as I was struggling to sleep in the heat