Dell says the global shift from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is moving much slower than planned. During its Q3 earnings call, COO Jeffrey Clarke revealed the rollout is still incomplete and lagging by 10–12 percentage points compared to the previous Windows 10 transition.
Why the Slowdown?
Analysts point to a few key reasons:
Windows 10 remained popular and fully supported for years, so many users didn’t feel pressured to upgrade.
Hardware requirements are stricter. Clarke noted that out of the world’s 1.5 billion PCs, about 500 million can run Windows 11 but haven’t upgraded, while another 500 million can’t run it at all without new hardware.
He described this as a major opportunity for future PC upgrades.
AI PCs May Boost Adoption
Despite the slow pace, Dell is optimistic. AI-powered PCs with dedicated NPUs are expected to push users toward newer devices. This confidence is reflected in the company’s strong performance Dell’s server and networking division hit $10.1 billion in revenue, a 37% jump year-over-year.
The Outlook
Microsoft will keep pushing Windows 11 adoption, but rising costs for components like RAM and GPUs could slow things further. For now, Dell expects the PC market to stay mostly flat, but believes Windows 11 upgrades will speed up over time as users replace aging devices and adopt AI-focused hardware.
