[mkl]

That was the plan [1], but then Apple changed from endless version 10 (X) releases to increasing their major number again. I think Microsoft just doesn't like having lower version numbers than competitors (see XBox naming, which started a year after the PlayStation 2 but a version behind: XBox -> XBox 360 -> XBox One (?!) -> XBox Series S/X).

[1] https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-may-be-last-versio...

[karmakurtisaani]

As sad as this is, it might actually work when the user base is large enough and consists of mainly non-tech people who think bigger version number means better. At some point versioning stops being about backwards compatibility and the system itself, and becomes yet another aspect of marketing.