Not too long ago, we reported that Microsoft had sold over 40 million Windows 8 licenses. In a little over a month, Microsoft has announced that the number has increased by 20 million to a total of 60 million licenses so far.
This puts Windows 8 on par with the adoption rate of Windows 7. Microsoft sold 60 million licenses of Windows 7 after just over two months of sales. The 60 million total licenses sold don’t necessarily mean that is how many people are using Windows 8 right now (as it includes OEM sales), and it is worth noting that Windows 8 upgrade licenses are currently discounted, which could be driving early adoption rates. Still, Windows 8 license sales appear to be going steadily.
The PC market, which has been on a decline for over a year, hasn’t experienced the typical sales boost that comes when a new version of Windows is released, but many factors — including the economy and the delay in the release of the Surface Pro tablet — could be playing a part in keeping the adoption rates down.