You can’t get to one billion devices without hitting 75 million first. Just a month after its release, Windows 10 has been installed on 75 million computers — well on its way to Microsoft’s goal of eventually hitting one billion different devices, according to a tweetstorm on Wednesday by Microsoft VP of Windows and Devices Yusif Mehdi.
Windows 10 had momentum from the start. It reached 14 million users just 24 hours after its release in late July. These healthy numbers could mean Microsoft’s strategy of making the operating system free to Windows 7 and 8 users is working.
1. #Windows10: More than 75 million devices running Windows 10 – and growing every day. 1/10 pic.twitter.com/g0kqGizU0c
— Yusuf Mehdi (@yusuf_i_mehdi) August 26, 2015
Microsoft is also taking a more open strategy this time around. Instead of keeping its software like Office or its digital assistant, Cortana, limited to just Windows, the company wants it to exist across all kinds of operating systems.
And for a platform not known for its apps, Windows 10 has also set off something of an application downloading spree. So far, users are downloading six times more apps than in Windows 8, which could bode well for Windows 10’s app ecosystem.
So will app developers start paying attention to Windows? Stranger things have happened.
There’s reason to believe Windows 10 installs will accelerate even further. There are millions of Windows devices out there running Vista or earlier that were not eligible for the free launch. Those users will be able to buy retail downloads or USB sticks later this month.