Windows 8 sales more than 200 million licenses, impressive but behind Windows 7

Windows 8 logo colored wall frame

Microsoft has been somewhat quiet about Windows 8 sales, but today Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Marketing Tami Reller at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference said that the latest version of its operating system has passed the 200 million licenses sales. This is over 100 million more licenses than six months ago when Microsoft reported that Windows 8 reached over the 100 million copies sale.

Looking at the number in millions seems very impressive, but looking back to Windows 7 sales, the company falls behind by 40 million as Windows 7 sold over 240 million licenses in the same 16 months period.

The reason for the slow sales in part is because of the current PC market, how people are shifting from desktop to mobile devices and other big players like Google and Apple are dominating the mobile market. But the other reason is because of the on going problems on Windows 8 not delivering an optimal desktop experience. “We’re being very thoughtful about what’s going well, what’s not going well and how do we change that,” noted Tami Reller. The company did comment on Windows 8.1 Update 1, but leaks has been pouring out left and right showing that Microsoft is trying hard to get the OS in the right direction with new enhancements and features for customers using keyboard and mouse. Also the company is making improvements to reduce the footprint so Windows 8.1 can run on smaller devices.

Tami Reller also said that the current top priority of the developer team is to get more apps in the Windows Store — “We’ve had some good success, but more to do.”

SEE ALSO: Microsoft pushes Windows 8.1 Update 1 release to April

Source The Verge

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.