Windows seemingly lost 400 million users in the past three years — official Microsoft statements show hints of a shrinking user base

Well, they do keep making it worse. I just had to reinstall the os because 24H2 broke my whole system. The fact that I can't translate my Playnite setup over is literally the only reason I haven't moved to Linux.

I'm not really surprised. A phone can often be cheaper, can do a lot of the same tasks (and some a PC can't do without special hardware), and generally has a better warranty program and tons of upgrade promotions. A lot of younger people have never needed to use a PC because they had tablets or phones.

I also think the concept of having to pay for an OS license is kinda stale for MS in particular because they're money grubbers in so many other ways. Just give out the OS for free to non-enterprise users and call it a day; it's not like they're using the revenue to provide desktop support or add customer value.

People leaving Windows is good. It's a shit OS built by a shit company managed by shit people. But to be replaced by a locked up phone/tablet that is solely meant for you to consume, instead of producing is a giant set back. I hope their analysis is BS (probably is) and that people are actually switching to another OS like Linux. Linux Desktop usage has been steadily going up for a couple of years now. One can hope...