The strong, and fast, adoption rate of Windows 10 is propelling the OS to capture 5.21% of the worldwide web traffic generated by desktop operating systems.
Windows 7 is still in the lead right now, with users generating 57.67% of internet traffic. Windows 10 is slightly ahead of the 4.75% captured by Apple's OS X 10.10 Yosemite operating system, according to data collected by NetMarketShare. However, Windows 10's net traffic is still roughly half of the 11.39% generated by its predecessor, Windows 8.1, and both behind Windows XP's 12.14%.
Windows 10 is installed on more than 75 million PCs, laptops and tablets on the market, Microsoft said ahead of the one-month anniversary of the operating system's release.
Home of the free and familiar
One reason for Windows 10's prominence is Microsoft's promotional upgrade pricing. During its first year of release, Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 owners can upgrade to Windows 10 for free, making it more attractive than the discounted upgrade pricing for Microsoft's prior OSes.
Additionally, unlike Windows 8, which took a radical UI change, Windows 10 brought back familiar elements, like the Start menu, while introducing useful new features, like new Snap multitasking features, Cortana, the Microsoft Edge bowser and a new Action Center for notifications.
The OS has been positively received by users and the press.
Life on the Edge
Microsoft's nascent Edge browser also made a dent in the overall internet traffic, taking home 2% of all browser traffic during its first month on the market. Microsoft is positioning Edge as a rival to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox for the desktop.
Edge comes with features such as a reading view, easy Cortana lookup with contextual and predictive search and the ability to draw and annotate on web pages in addition to taking a simple screenshot.
With Edge's new features, Microsoft is looking to lock in Windows 10 users. Edge comes as the default browser on the OS, and Microsoft requires extra steps if users want to switch to Chrome or Firefox permanently.
Microsoft announced early this month that it is working on adding support for the WebM standard in Edge. WebM is an open source HTML5 video format that is backed by Google, and Edge users have been vocal about its absence, prompting Microsoft's response.
A new Microsoft
There is still more room for Windows 10 and Edge to grow. Intel recently launched its sixth generation Skylake processor at IFA 2015. Skylake delivers better processing power, improved graphics performance and longer battery stamina.
Intel executives told techradar ahead of the show that it anticipates more than 500 new desktop, laptop and tablet designs with Skylake to hit the market.
If users upgrade to new hardware with Skylake, something Intel hopes you'll do, this could help Microsoft boost its Windows 10 market share. Skylake, according to Kirk Skaugen, Senior VP and General Manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel, was designed to work with Windows 10, featuring support for dual-array microphones to work with Cortana, better image processing support to work with RealSense 3D and better security.
- Read our review of Windows 10
