Microsoft finally confirms that Windows 10 is installed on 700 million devices

During a session called 'An Introduction to Microsoft Managed Desktop' at its Ignite 2018 conference yesterday, Microsoft said that Windows 10 is now running on over 700 million active devices. If you follow Windows 10 news, this might not even seem like a major development.

That's because the firm's communication around this has been wildly inconsistent. It started off when Windows and Devices chief Terry Myerson announced that he's leaving Microsoft, and he wrote in a farewell letter that Windows 10 is installed on nearly 700 million active devices. That was almost six months ago.

At the firm's Build conference in May and at the Insider Dev Tour in July, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 is installed on over 700 million devices, only to retract those statements later on and say they were mistakes. But today after almost six months of "nearly 700 million", Windows 10 is officially installed on over 700 million devices.

The last milestone was 600 million active devices, and that was announced on November 29, 2017, nearly 10 months ago. Of course, Microsoft doesn't announce these things the moment that Windows 10 hits the milestone; it usually reserves such announcements for major events.

The next major milestone will be 800 million active devices, although it's unclear if Microsoft will even make that announcement, given its waning focus on Windows, and how long it stuck to the "nearly 700 million" message without any updates.