Windows 7 Is Surging And People Are Ditching Their Iphones - If You Believe These Charts

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Dozens of sites reported this week that Windows 7 usage is "skyrocketing."
• The reports are based connected charts from a notoriously unreliable source.
• More apt explanation: Changes successful iOS 26 are confusing analytics trackers.

My news provender was perfectly overwhelmed this week pinch headlines telling maine that Windows 7's marketplace stock "skyrocketed" past month, arsenic users conscionable said nary to Windows 11.

Then I realized it's nan first of nan period and of course all those stories are appearing because Statcounter Global Stats just released its "market share" reports for nan erstwhile month. Tech reporters cannot defy charts for illustration this 1 immoderate much than Mr. Bigglesworth tin opportunity nary to a container of caller catnip.

Did 100 million+ group really move to Windows 7 past month? Seriously?

Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET

Whoa! If you judge those numbers, astir 10% of each worldwide postulation from Windows PCs successful September 2025 came from PCs moving Windows 7, an operating strategy that has been unsupported and obsolete for six years.

Seriously?

Also: Microsoft has mislaid its way

Well, for illustration I said, "if you judge those numbers..." If you person nary captious reasoning skills astatine all, past of people you will simply constitute that obviously tens and possibly hundreds of millions of group person scoured nan internet, recovered a bootleg transcript of a 16-year-old operating system, and installed it connected their PCs. And past you will dress up a communicative astir why that happened.

Of course, nary of that happened. Those numbers are complete nonsense. StatCounter's measurements are notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. They bounce astir successful weird ways that are virtually incomprehensible, and they beryllium perfectly thing astir immoderate benignant of "market share," arsenic I've written much times than I attraction to remember. If you request a refresher, spell read this post.

But what astir nan remainder of nan story?

Anyway, successful their haste to unquestioningly study these unbelievable numbers, those tech journalists each missed an moreover bigger story.

It's correct location successful this month's Statcounter charts. Just spell propulsion up the Operating System Market Share Worldwide chart for 2025, arsenic I did here.

Why did Windows abruptly go much celebrated and iOS postulation plunge?

Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET

In May 2025, nan spread betwixt postulation from Windows PCs (the bluish line) and devices moving iOS (the grey line) was almost precisely 7%. In nan 5 months since then, according to nan aforesaid heap of Statcounter GS information that each those different stories relied on, Windows has go insanely much popular, and a immense number of group person fixed up connected their iPhones.

Also: My favourite iOS 26 characteristic makes screenshots moreover much useful - and it's easy to enable

According to Statcounter's data, iOS has mislaid astir 20% of its "market share" since nan commencement of nan year, going from 18.11% successful January to 14.5% successful September. The spread betwixt Windows PCs and iOS devices is now 16%.

That's astir a 9% displacement successful a matter of months, which seems curiously adjacent to nan inexplicable detonation of fame successful Windows 7 -- and arsenic unlikely.

So, what happened here?

This isn't conscionable a Statcounter problem.

When I went to nan website of nan US Government's Digital Analytics Program, which tracks visits to websites tally by nan Federal government, I recovered a akin shape of data, pinch Windows (and Windows 7 successful particular) showing a weird surge successful fame complete nan past fewer months -- Year-to-date postulation from Windows devices is astir 32.7%, but that number changeable up to 38.1% successful nan period of September and to 41% successful nan 7 days ending arsenic visits from devices moving iOS dropped astir nan aforesaid amount.

That suggests that immoderate is causing these weird measurements has thing to do pinch really those visits are being recorded successful web analytics logs. The astir apt reply is beautiful evident if you deliberation astir it for a minute.

Also: Can't upgrade your Windows 10 PC? You person 2 weeks to enactment - and 5 options

All those lines were level and fixed done nan period of May. Then, thing happened: iOS 26 -- which, not coincidentally, earnestly messed pinch type numbers (going from 18 to 26 successful 1 jump) and added caller privateness protections that, among different things, froze nan personification supplier drawstring successful Safari.

The Developer Beta of iOS 26 and macOS 26 was released connected June 9, 2025, nan aforesaid time arsenic WWDC. The Public Beta arrived connected July 24, 2025. Release candidates showed up successful early September, and nan last nationalist merchandise of iOS 26 and macOS 26 was connected Sept. 15, 2025.

Map those numbers to nan floor plan supra and you tin spot nan expected driblet successful usage for iOS arsenic nan organization of devices moving iOS 26 slow expands, starting successful June and increasing bigger astatine a dependable clip successful August and September. That's precisely what you would expect if postulation from those devices were mistakenly being counted arsenic if it was coming from PCs moving an ancient type of Windows.

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There are astir apt different factors astatine activity here, but you don't person to beryllium Sherlock Holmes to find nan astir apt culprit.

Can we each work together that these charts are useless and nan underlying information is garbage?

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