Microsoft rejects target of 1 billion Windows 10 devices by 2018

Microsoft has announced that it will not reach its target of 1 billion Windows 10 devices by fiscal year 2018. This was put forward by Terry Myerson, who is responsible for Windows and devices at Microsoft, during the 2015 Build conference.

When asked, Microsoft told ZDNet that “Windows 10 has had an excellent start with more than 350 million monthly active devices.” However, the target of the fiscal year 2018 would no longer be met, because “the focus is on the telephone hardware department”. Microsoft’s fiscal year runs from July to June. The growth in the coming period should come from new devices and commercial deployment of the operating system, according to Microsoft’s response.

The spokesperson did not mention a new target. The target number of installations applied to all devices and Windows Phone also had to take care of part of that, ZDNet writes. However, this branch is no longer a high priority for the company since 2015. Recently, there were still rumors of three Surface phones that should be released in early 2017.

Microsoft plans to release a major update to Windows 10 in the summer, under the name Anniversary Update. It was recently announced that the release date has been set for August 2. In a podcast this week, the head of the Windows Insider program, Dona Sarkar, said the update will be done in phases, Digitaltrends writes. PCs and phones would receive the update first, she added. From July 29, the upgrade to Windows 10 will no longer be free.