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The
software that turned Microsoft into a household name and
dominated personal computers for years has been overtaken in
popularity by devices using Apple and Google software, but it is
still core to Microsoft's strength in the corporate market.
And the upgraded operating system may also appeal to
individuals, who have helped drive sales of PCs sharply higher
over the past year due to work-from-home practices adopted
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Analysts expect the successor to Windows 10 to be called Windows
11 and to contain updates for business users that could make it
easier to use with dual-monitor setups. It may also hold updates
for PC gamers, another important customer base for Microsoft,
including an Xbox app.
Microsoft may also give more details at Thursday's online launch
event on its plans for a revamped Windows Store.
The company recently cut commissions on games sold through the
store to 12%, lower than the 15% it takes on regular apps, and
has been a vocal critic of Apple Inc's App Store, which charges
30% commissions and requires developers to use Apple's in-app
payments systems.
Windows powered Microsoft's rise in the 1990s as PCs became a
fixture among businesses and consumers. But the operating system
took a back seat to Apple's iOS and Alphabet Inc's Google as
mobile phones displaced PCs as the primary computing device for
billions of users.
Windows remains one of the biggest platforms in the technology
world, with Microsoft's personal computing segment, which
includes Windows revenue from businesses and consumers,
accounting for $48.2 billion of its $143 billion in revenue in
its most recent fiscal year.
Windows 10, the most recent version, has 1.3 billion users,
nearly as many as Apple's total installed device base of 1.65
billion users but less than half of Alphabet's 3 billion Android
users.
Among PCs and laptops, Windows lost some market share in 2020 to
Google's Chromebooks as schools opted for cheaper devices for
online learning but still retained greater than 80% market
share, according to data firm IDC.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Peter
Henderson and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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