- Zorin OS registered one million downloads last month
- This has been the case since Zorin OS 18 was released on the same day Microsoft ended support for windows 10.
- This seems to indicate that many Windows 10 deserters are migrating to this Linux distribution, but we have to be careful with the numbers here.
A critically acclaimed Linux variant is apparently doing a good job of attracting defectors from Microsoft’s desktop ecosystem after Windows 10 support ended.
I discovered Tom’s material. that the developer of the Zorin operating system is once again boasting about the increase in downloads after version 18 of the Linux distribution registered 100,000 downloads in just two days after its release.
But as one article tells us, it has already reached the million mark. blog article: “We are happy to announce that Zorin OS 18 has reached 1 million downloads in just over a month since launch, breaking all previous records.”
Developer Zorin also notes that according to its data on these downloads, 78% of these downloads come from Windows computers, indicating that a large portion of these people are switching from Microsoft’s operating system to Linux.
So that’s a million more recruits for the Zorin Olympics in about five weeks, right? Well, no, not really, and I’ll explain why later, but that’s still an impressive number to have accumulated in just over a month since Microsoft ended official support for Windows 10.
Analysis: an impressive result, with some caveats
Although Zorin OS has registered a million downloads since the release of version 18 of the distribution, on the same day Microsoft ended official support for Windows 10, this obviously does not mean that a million Windows users have fled to the Linux hills.
We’re told that 78% of downloads come from Windows PCs, so in theory that’s about 780,000 people, but just because Zorin OS was taken off the Internet and onto a Windows PC doesn’t mean anyone is switching from Windows to Linux on that PC. For example, a person in this boat may have multiple computers and be able to download on one computer to install on another (non-Windows system). Or they’re curious about Zorin, maybe enough to download it, but don’t bother installing the OS (or try briefly and then give up).
Anyway, you get the idea: there are a number of possible reasons and scenarios for a download that don’t necessarily lead to a new user joining Zorin or leaving Windows just because the Linux distribution was downloaded to a Microsoft PC.
However, it is likely that a large number of Windows 10 deserters do not want to upgrade to Windows 11 (or cannot due to higher hardware requirements). Especially since one of Zorin’s strengths is that it targets these defectors and has a Windows-like desktop environment. Note that we consider the “Lite” version of Zorin to be the best Linux distribution for those with older computers, and this may explain many of these migrating operating systems.
How many people will stick with Zorin in the future may be another question, but for now, Zorin OS is making significant progress after Windows 10 disappeared. This despite the fact that Microsoft’s operating system has wide support, which means that it can last until October 2026, and all this may worry Microsoft in this regard.
It will certainly be interesting to see if other Linux distributions will report similar stories of ranking improvements in the coming months as this type of activity continues, mostly outside of Zorin.