Windows 7 has approached the user share numbers set by Windows XP six years ago, hinting that unless Microsoft executes its Windows 10 upgrade plans to perfection, Windows 7 will persist on devices long after its 2020 retirement.

At the same time, the massive number of devices running Windows 7 — currently just over 1 billion by estimates based on Microsoft’s data — provides Microsoft with the wherewithal to quash a repeat of the 2013-2014 scramble to dump XP.

According to figures published Wednesday by metrics vendor Net Applications, Windows 7’s user share surged in June to power 67.1% of all Windows personal computers worldwide. The more-than-two-thirds mark was nearly four percentage points higher than in May and a record for Windows 7.

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