Why is Windows 11 so disliked by programmers – and can Microsoft do anything to change things?
Why is Windows 11 so disliked by programmers – and can Microsoft do anything to change things?
Publish Date: 2026-06-23 03:00:00
Source Domain: www.itpro.com
Windows may be a timeless OS, and practically synonymous with modern PCs, but that doesn’t mean it’s well-loved by its users. In fact, the opposite might be true in some instances, according to anecdotal evidence as well as reports by publications like Windows Central.
While the development world is far from a homogeneous blob, anecdotal consensus suggests that Windows 11 is the least enjoyed mainstream platform for developers, with systems like macOS and Linux overwhelmingly preferred. But why does Windows 11 have such a bad reputation among developers, anecdotally at least?
Whether it’s on internet forums, in blog posts, or in our conversations with experts, Windows 11 is often snubbed in favour of macOS or Linux, depending on the context. In fact, one of the best advantages of Windows, developers say, is the capacity to run Linux on mainstream hardware. There are, of course, some advantages to using Windows 11 for development – but what could Microsoft do to get more developers on board?
Which OS do coders and programmers really prefer?
ITPro consulted with more than a dozen programmers, engineers, and developers to understand why they use the platforms they do, and whether Microsoft has the potential to transform Windows into an attractive destination for coding.
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Little research exists into which OS developers truly prefer, although Stack Overflow findings suggest that Windows is the dominant platform in which they work; nearly half (49.5%) use it over alternatives, including macOS (32.9%) and Ubuntu (27.7%), among others. But just because Windows is the “primary [OS] in which you work” — that doesn’t mean it’s the OS of choice, with organizations and administrators usually calling the shots more often than not.
The developers we spoke with were divided evenly between the three major systems – Windows, macOS, and Linux — with some even using all three depending on the task. However, when we asked which OS they prefer to code on, none…
