In Focus: Is it over for Windows.

Windows — The most popular operating system (OS) on Earth, although it may not be soon.

So why might Windows not be as mainstream as it is now in the near future? Well, we need to look at the average first impressions of Windows: Picture this, you just paid $139.99 for Windows 11. You boot it up, and it takes an hour to start up and install all of its updates. Then, you have to create a Windows account, you must then make sure that you definitely do not want to use Microsoft 365, and then finally get into the Operating system. And in every nook and cranny of the OS, you will find ads. Ads that never end. After getting lots of nudges from Windows, you finally decide that Microsoft 365 is a good investment. Once finally go into Word to test it out, you see that it is filled with bloated Copilot features. And as you do this, an update (you are forced to update your computer whenever the OS finds one) appears, and you have to wait minutes for it to install. When you go back into the OS, you might find that even basic features, such as file explorer and Notepad, are broken. This update, which you were forced to install, did not fix anything but broke the OS. 

This is what Windows 11 users are experiencing right now. And if you are one of them, you have at least once thought about switching to another OS. Some have already switched to macOS. 

People have even turned to Linux. Even the French government is switching from Windows to its own Linux distribution. There are many such distros, such as Arch, Debian, Mint, Ubuntu, etc. These distros are all built for different uses.

And one final nail in the coffin: For many years, Windows laptops dominated the lower-priced segment of the market, meaning some users chose them primarily due to cost rather than preference, as Apple laptops were more expensive. Recently, Apple has recently made released the new $600 MacBook Neo, which is targeted at students and general consumers, positioning them as competitors to budget Windows laptops. These devices are designed to offer tighter integration between hardware and software while remaining more affordable than the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. As a result, some consumers who previously opted for Windows devices due to budget constraints now have a rival within the Apple ecosystem. As the MacBook Neo has sold really well since its release, much more than what Apple had predicted, it is stealing a lot of the affordable Windows laptops’ customers.

So, what does this mean? It means that Windows, the basis of computer systems, may come to an abrupt end, with macOS and Linux taking over the market. It seems like AI, ads, and mandatory broken updates were the wrong move after all.