Windows 10 soars as channel inventory woes ease

HP, Lenovo and Fujitsu among those driving sales of pre-installed Windows 10 devices

Windows 10 is soaring in the western European channel, according to Context, which said the spike is partly due to decreasing levels of inventory.

The analyst claims that in the first two weeks of November, more than 346,000 new PCs with Windows 10 pre-installed on them were sold through Western European distribution, giving the OS a 67 per cent share of the Windows Home market and a 25 per cent share of the Windows Business segment.

In October, the market shares stood at 43 per cent and 17 per cent respectively, signalling a sharp spike in early November.

HP, Lenovo and Fujitsu are "driving the channel transition to Windows 10 Pro", the analyst said.

Although inventory woes are easing across the region, the analyst said the issue is not over yet.

"The acceleration in the transition to Windows 10 seen in the channel was in line with reports on decreasing, although still higher than desired, PC inventory levels across eastern Europe", said Marie-Christine Pygott, senior analyst at Context.

"High levels of old stock had been one of the reasons for the slow start to sales of Windows 10 PCs following the new OS's launch in July, together with the late release of the Windows 10 build and the availability of a free upgrade."