MSFT Microsoft Corporation

By Jay Greene 

More than 350 million devices now run Windows 10, as Microsoft Corp.'s campaign to promote the latest version of its flagship operating system builds steam.

Windows 10 adoption has risen alongside aggressive practices on the part of Microsoft, intended to spur upgrades from earlier versions, that have riled some consumers. Microsoft promised to soften that approach on Monday.

The company is racing to meet a goal of 1 billion Windows devices in use by the end of June 2018. Windows 10 adoption has grown 16.7% since early May, when the company said that 300 million devices were running the software. Microsoft would need to post an average compounded quarterly growth rate of roughly 19% to achieve its goal.

Windows 10, which made its debut last summer, represents a strategic bet for the company. The software runs on not only personal computers, but also on phones, tablets and the Xbox gaming console.

Microsoft is trying to leverage Windows' dominance in personal-computer operating systems to help it gain ground in mobile devices, where operating systems from Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Apple Inc. dominate. The more people who use Windows 10, the company reckons, the better its chance of convincing developers to create Windows versions of sought-after applications for mobile devices.

The "vast majority" of devices running Windows 10 are desktops and laptops, said Lisa Gurry, senior director for Windows at Microsoft.

Researchers at Gartner Inc. have said corporate customers aren't likely to roll out the operating system broadly until 2017. Ms. Gurry said 96% of Microsoft's corporate customers are testing the software, though she declined to disclose the number of those accounts.

Microsoft's effort to spur Windows users to upgrade to Windows 10 led to complaints the company was being overly aggressive. Customers using earlier versions received pop-up alerts offering a free upgrade. When they clicked a red "X" in the top right corner of the alert box, which typically dismisses an alert, an upgrade was initiated.

Microsoft dialed back that approach Monday. Now, when the alert appears, customers will have the option to upgrade immediately, choose a time to upgrade or decline to upgrade. And clicking the red "X" will dismiss the dialog box, though the company will remind customers of the upgrade option a few days later.

The company also said Monday that a new version of the operating system, Windows 10 anniversary update, would make its debut Aug. 2. Microsoft announced the update at its conference for software developers in March, but it didn't disclose a release date at the time. The update will include new security features and a feature called Windows Ink that lets users scribble sticky notes or annotate documents with a digital stylus.

The update will also enable Cortana, Microsoft's voice-controlled assistant software, to work directly from device-lock screens, so users won't have to log into their devices to access the app. And the new version of Windows will include Xbox Play Anywhere, a function that lets users start videogames on an Xbox One console and continue it on a Windows 10 personal computer or mobile device, if the game supports the capability.

The anniversary update will be free on devices that already run Windows 10. Microsoft has offered free upgrades to Windows 10 for devices running Windows 7 or Windows 8 until July 29. The anniversary update will cost $119 for customers who want to upgrade devices that aren't already running Windows 10.

Write to Jay Greene at Jay.Greene@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2016 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)

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