Majority of Windows 10 upgrades will be from Windows 7

Windows XP continues to stand strong in second place among all desktop operating systems just months before the next version of Windows gets released this summer.

Data released by Net Market Share for March 2015 shows that Windows 7 dominates the OS landscape with a 58.04% share of the market as most of those leaving the out-of-date Windows XP have simply moved over to 7.

XP users account for 16.74% of the market, down from 19.15% in February, yet Windows 8.1, the newest version currently available, lags behind in third place with 10.55%. Mac OS X 10.10, meanwhile, holds a 3.96% share whereas Windows 8 maintains a 3.52% chunk of the OS market.

No free upgrade for XP

Microsoft killed support for XP in April last year and it's feasible that many of those still using it are simply waiting for Windows 10 to come along before they choose to upgrade. XP users are not part of the group that can upgrade to Windows 10 for free, and users will need to either install a copy of Windows 8.1 to access the free upgrade or buy a whole new machine.

Windows 10 is currently available in technical preview and showed up on the Net Applications radar with a tiny 0.09% of the global share, a number that is expected to increase dramatically come its release this summer.

• Check out our hands-on review of Windows 10

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