Windows 8 hits 100 million sales, Microsoft working to address user complaints
Even as Microsoft's Windows 8 reached a milestone in passing 100 million licenses sold, the software giant is preparing to rework its latest operating system in order to address the realities of a drastically changed computing market.
Officials from Microsoft revealed the 100 million sales figure to media outlets last week, but it was only publicly released on Monday, according to Reuters. The sales pace for Windows 8 roughly matches that of Microsoft's successful Windows 7, but observers doubt that the new system is on track to have an impact comparable to the older one.
In the past four months, Windows 8 has sold 40 million units, lower than Windows 7's average sales rate. Windows 7, though, had the benefit of replacing the much maligned Windows Vista. Windows 8, meanwhile, represents Microsoft's attempt to counteract the ongoing popularity of Apple's iPad, even as the PC market that supported Microsoft and its hardware partners looks to be crumbling.
The traditional computing market ? the so-called "Wintel" grouping of Microsoft, Intel, and a collection of PC manufacturers ? suffered its biggest decline ever last quarter, dropping 14 percent year-over-year. A soft global economy, the rise of smartphones and tablets, and a plateau in overall PC design have all played a part in the market's stagnation and decline, but observers also point the finger at Microsoft, whose Windows 8 marked a significant departure from the standard set by the preceding editions.
The touch-centric Modern UI featured in Windows 8 was Microsoft's answer to the rise of iOS and Android, which dominate a mobile device segment where Microsoft has been largely unable to gain traction. Consumers balked, though, at Windows 8's marked difference from its predecessors, especially the move away from a traditional desktop into the Metro UI's tile-based touch environment and the apparent abandonment of the familiar Start button.
Windows 8 also suffered from high component prices in the touch-enabled computers it is meant to power. Microsoft has responded by cutting licensing prices for Windows 8 on some devices, as well as encouraging its partners to develop smaller Windows 8 form factors in order to compete with the iPad mini and other mid-size tablets.
Tablets running Windows 8 combined to grab about 7 percent of the market in the first quarter of last year. Apple's iOS held roughly 48 percent of the market, while Google's Android operating system grew to 43 percent.
The flat consumer response to Windows 8 has been likened to Coca-Cola's launch of New Coke some 30 years ago, notes The Financial Times. Coca-Cola, though, dropped its New Coke formula after only three months of consumer backlash, while it apparently takes longer to turn around a software giant.
Microsoft is trying to turn it around, though: The Redmond giant is preparing a follow-up to Windows 8, currently codenamed Windows Blue. That version, also known as Windows 8.1, is said to include the ability to boot straight to the traditional desktop, largely bypassing the "Modern" environment. Microsoft will be revealing more about the update's functionality in the coming weeks, but for now the company says it will be doing more to help consumers adapt to new features.
""The learning curve is real, and we need to address it," Tami Reller, Microsoft's Windows unit co-head, said to Reuters. "We're not sitting back and saying they will get used to it."
Officials from Microsoft revealed the 100 million sales figure to media outlets last week, but it was only publicly released on Monday, according to Reuters. The sales pace for Windows 8 roughly matches that of Microsoft's successful Windows 7, but observers doubt that the new system is on track to have an impact comparable to the older one.
In the past four months, Windows 8 has sold 40 million units, lower than Windows 7's average sales rate. Windows 7, though, had the benefit of replacing the much maligned Windows Vista. Windows 8, meanwhile, represents Microsoft's attempt to counteract the ongoing popularity of Apple's iPad, even as the PC market that supported Microsoft and its hardware partners looks to be crumbling.
The traditional computing market ? the so-called "Wintel" grouping of Microsoft, Intel, and a collection of PC manufacturers ? suffered its biggest decline ever last quarter, dropping 14 percent year-over-year. A soft global economy, the rise of smartphones and tablets, and a plateau in overall PC design have all played a part in the market's stagnation and decline, but observers also point the finger at Microsoft, whose Windows 8 marked a significant departure from the standard set by the preceding editions.
The touch-centric Modern UI featured in Windows 8 was Microsoft's answer to the rise of iOS and Android, which dominate a mobile device segment where Microsoft has been largely unable to gain traction. Consumers balked, though, at Windows 8's marked difference from its predecessors, especially the move away from a traditional desktop into the Metro UI's tile-based touch environment and the apparent abandonment of the familiar Start button.
Windows 8 also suffered from high component prices in the touch-enabled computers it is meant to power. Microsoft has responded by cutting licensing prices for Windows 8 on some devices, as well as encouraging its partners to develop smaller Windows 8 form factors in order to compete with the iPad mini and other mid-size tablets.
Tablets running Windows 8 combined to grab about 7 percent of the market in the first quarter of last year. Apple's iOS held roughly 48 percent of the market, while Google's Android operating system grew to 43 percent.
The flat consumer response to Windows 8 has been likened to Coca-Cola's launch of New Coke some 30 years ago, notes The Financial Times. Coca-Cola, though, dropped its New Coke formula after only three months of consumer backlash, while it apparently takes longer to turn around a software giant.
Microsoft is trying to turn it around, though: The Redmond giant is preparing a follow-up to Windows 8, currently codenamed Windows Blue. That version, also known as Windows 8.1, is said to include the ability to boot straight to the traditional desktop, largely bypassing the "Modern" environment. Microsoft will be revealing more about the update's functionality in the coming weeks, but for now the company says it will be doing more to help consumers adapt to new features.
""The learning curve is real, and we need to address it," Tami Reller, Microsoft's Windows unit co-head, said to Reuters. "We're not sitting back and saying they will get used to it."
Comments
That would be a *very* interesting statistic.
Windows 8 has got some nice improvements but the ms agenda has got in the way with its shop on the metro screen - i suspect thats why metro was included in all pc's - interested to see what they come up with to appease as well as push their fledgling business model.
The most important legacy Stevo left us was his obsession with not allowing nerdy programmers to produce crappy SW and clunky interfaces.
One only has to look at windows, android and anything not made by Apple. I'm thinking cable box interfaces, camera interfaces, etc.
MS just doesn't get it. And neither does Google, for that matter!
I wonder how many of the 100 million were ever put into use.
I wonder why?
But bloated. Takes up more than half the storage on a Phone -- and wasn't that a REALLY BAD compromise?
Apple created iOS with touch screen and busy minds on a phone as their guide. The ability to do a lot without unlimited resources and storage trickled back to the desktop OS -- not the other way around. Communications, constant save, low power and the ability to deal with latency make things more robust when you cannot assume an app will have everything it needs right away.
A lot of the graphics now in Lion are compressed. The OS is actually smaller in the areas where it duplicates what Snow Leopard has done. Eventually I see that they will have iOS as a virtual environment. But Apple is not doing STUPID TOUCHSCREEN TRICKS just because they can. I'm hoping they can keep the sensibility of the computer as a TOOL and not fall prey to "let's make this display data over hear, and move the button over hear and make it look like a turtle -- for fun". My mother cannot find a way to stop her GPS or her "voice command" app once something else has jumped in front of it -- and neither can I. There's no "off switch" on these damn apps. It's cool to say; "find the nearest restaurant" but it's uncool when it starts dialing 911 because someone made a joke about "I'm dying over hear."
We need a commercial where someone is constantly interrupted by their phone and starts screaming at it; "Shut up. Turn off you stupid smart phone!" Sam Kennison's zombie comes to mind. Then the actor sets up a simple lever to interrupt the battery as a universal off switch. "Down boy! Sit! Until you learn to behave, no electricity for you!"
IT's like an affectionate, easy to please puppy that turns into a large slobbering dog that whines incessantly when you close the bathroom door. That's what we are getting with some of these Smart Phones with featuritis -- and until Microsoft realizes that an OS needs to be a utility and not an obnoxious billboard, they are going to remain a large slobbery mess.
I think they're kind of screwed now in that the release of Windows 8 has shown that it was probably a bad idea to blend the touch Windows OS with the regular Windows OS. Windows RT might have had a chance if it were a stand alone mobile touch based operating system like iOS.
Worse, they can't even separate the two OS's again to "fix" the problem because their touch based mobile offerings are doing so poorly that if Windows RT were unhitched from "regular" Windows it wouldn't survive on it's own. They have no other choice now, and no other plan than to run hybridised OS's on hybrid/convertible hardware. They've made their choice and they can't take it back.
Unfortunately for them, a tablet that's not quite a tablet, and a laptop that's not quite a laptop doesn't seem to please anyone at all.
This is one case where MS *should* have copied Apple as they usually do and gone for a full-fledged mobile OS. For whatever reason they failed to do it. Big mistake.
you have to be blind and retard to believe that 100 million win8 devices are being used. Maybe 1/10th of that.
plovell wrote: "I wonder how many of those 100 million are still in use?"
Excellent question! When we talk about any business/corporate purchases of Windows systems, they come with Windows 8 pre-installed, and they get counted as Windows 8 sales. HOWEVER, and this is a big "however", with that comes the option to DOWNGRADE to Windows 7. And that is exactly what many, many businesses are doing!
AND, FURTHERMORE, some of these new systems don't run so well on Windows 7 because of firmware dependencies on Windows 8 code. SO ... how many of those system owners WISH they could downgrade to Windows 7?
It's amazing how badly MS has screwed this up, and EVEN MORE AMAZING that they aren't the laughing stock or object of pity in this age of technology. Yet, the companies entrenched (buried) with MS and have vested interests in MS technology keep saying, "You've really got to have a glass of this KoolAid ... really ... it's great once you get used to it! And, hey, were making it better all the time!!"
If anyone has evidence to the contrary (about the number of systems being downgraded), PLEASE, point me to that documented evidence.
Shipped, not sold to consumers.
I now several people who bought a PC with Windows 8 pre-installed. They hated it and downgraded within weeks. I guess that still counts as a Windows 8 sale though
Originally Posted by Bilbo63
I guess that still counts as a Windows 8 sale though
Sadly, as with everyone in the industry that isn't Apple, sales ? use share. We need some third party system to tell us just how much of the world is using Windows 8.
Ironically, Google would probably be best for the job of getting the most accurate numbers, since they can magically insert whatever code they want into their ads, which are everywhere. Just subtract the 2% of worldwide marketshare from their final tally they'll magically give to Chrome OS and we'd have a pretty good picture.
I have a small website with a topic that draws people on all platforms. Here are my windows visitor stats so far this month:
Windows
6,592
62.4 %
Windows XP
1,473
13.9 %
Windows Vista
725
6.8 %
Windows NT
6
0 %
Windows Vista (LongHorn)
304
2.8 %
Windows 98
7
0 %
Windows 7
4,046
38.3 %
Windows 2003
25
0.2 %
Windows 2000
6
0 %
Notice anything missing?
I run a small website with a diverse audience when it comes to computer platform and browsers. Here are my stats so far this month for Windows:
Windows
6,592
62.4 %
Windows XP
1,473
13.9 %
Windows Vista
725
6.8 %
Windows NT
6
0 %
Windows Vista (LongHorn)
304
2.8 %
Windows 98
7
0 %
Windows 7
4,046
38.3 %
Windows 2003
25
0.2 %
Windows 2000
6
0 %
Notice anything missing?
and there was a last burst of actual purchases before the W8 introductory sales prices ended in March.
the next quarterly report - if we get one - will be more indicative of reality. of course MS will blame any slowdown on people waiting for "Blue." will it be a free update do you think?