![]() Logo as of October 2021 | |
Developer | Microsoft |
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Source model | |
Initial release | November 20, 1985 |
Latest release | 23H2 (10.0.22631.4037) (August 13, 2024[1]) [±] |
Latest preview |
24H2 (10.0.26100.1457) (August 13, 2024[2][3]) [±]
23H2 (10.0.22635.4010) (August 9, 2024[4]) [±]
24H2 (10.0.26120.1350) (August 9, 2024[5]) [±]
|
Marketing target | Personal computing |
Available in | 110 languages |
Update method | |
Package manager | Windows Installer (.msi, .msp),[7] App Installer (.msix,[8] .msixbundle[9][10]), Microsoft Store (.appx, .appxbundle),[11] Windows Package Manager |
Platforms | IA-32, x86-64, ARM, ARM64 Previously: 16-bit x86, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC, Itanium |
Kernel type |
|
Default user interface | Windows shell |
License | Proprietary commercial software |
Official website | windows |
Microsoft Windows is a product line of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and sub-families that cater to particular sectors of the computing industry – Windows (unqualified) for a consumer or corporate workstation, Windows Server for a server and Windows IoT for an embedded system. Defunct families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.
The first version of Windows was released on November 20, 1985, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).[12]
Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with a 70% market share as of March 2023[update], according to StatCounter.[13] However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android's massive growth globally since the early 2010s.[14]
As of 2024[update], the most recent version of Windows is Windows 11 for consumer PCs and tablets, Windows 11 Enterprise for corporations, and Windows Server 2022 for servers. Still supported are some editions of Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and later (and exceptionally with paid support down to Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded POSReady 7).
[Microsoft's chief operating officer] Turner's 14% came from a new forecast released last week by Gartner, which estimated Windows' share of the shipped device market last year was 14%, and would decrease slightly to 13.7% in 2014. Android will dominate, Gartner said, with a 48% share this year
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