Survey shows Windows 10 usage among consumers is high, and so is satisfaction

According to a survey conducted by the research firm IDC, about a third of US Windows users are running the latest Windows 10 operating system (via Computerworld). The survey was conducted in September and polled 1,000 users who owned a computer about their view regarding Microsoft’s latest operating system.

According to the results, almost 30 percent of the people polled were running Windows 10 on their computers with 27 percent respondents running Windows 8. Still, 28 percent of the users reported they are running Windows 7 as the operating system on their devices.

The survey respondents also rates the satisfaction rate for the new operating system high. Almost 60 percent of the people running Windows 10 rated it as “favorable” or “very favorable” when asked. There were a few people who were not completely satisfied, but that’s bound to happen, not every user is happy with new operating systems, whether it’s Microsoft or any other firm. According to the survey, one out of 10 people picked “unfavorable” when asked.

Some other research firms who conducted a similar survey for September pegged the market share for Windows 10 to be quite lower. StatCounter results showed a 9 percent market share out of all operating systems, while Digital Analytics program put the market share on 9.2 percent for September. The differences can arise, as IDC’s Tom Mainelli said that 30 percent of the correspondents of the survey they took were Windows 10. “As with any consumer survey, it’s not possible to verify what they’re claiming,” Mainelli said.

Furthermore, the survey also said that 45 percent of the people who are running the new operating system upgraded after clicking Microsoft’s notification app which came up. On the other hand, 37 percent of the people said they were a part of the Windows Insiders program started last year and upgraded as soon as Microsoft released the new operating system in July 2015. Five percent of the people surveyed said they bought a retail copy while a similar percentage of people said they received the new operating system with their new computers. Not many are interested in picking up a new system just for the sake of Windows 10, which brings us to another important point, that is, it’s not a major factor that can boost PC sales at the moment.

“The poll shows that people using Windows 10 like it, which is a positive,” Mainelli said. “And this survey shows that while many consumers have embraced Windows 10, they’re not necessarily buying new systems to get it.”

PC shipments are declining year-on-year, and the recent report from Gartner estimated the decline at over 8 percent for the fourth quarter with the shipments expected to become slightly better in late 2016. As for IDC, they estimated a global industry decline at 10 percent, but it’s a little better in the United States for 2015 — the decline was slightly less compared to the global market.

It remains to be seen Windows 10 can really help kick off PC sales for this year as there are a number of other devices making rounds in the market, especially tablets.