Internet usage is booming all over the world, yet there are some interesting changes to take note of. For the first time in history, Android is the most popular operating system when it comes to internet usage. Windows, the popular operating system developed by Microsoft, is now in second place. An interesting chance, although it remains to be seen how the charts look a month from now.
In a way, it not surprising to find out a mobile operating system is the premier choice to access the internet. Consumers are far more likely to own a smartphone computer to a desktop or laptop these days. That is not good news for OS X and Windows by any means, although the “damage” has always remained somewhat limited. That is, until March of 2017.
According to a new infographic provided by StatCounter, Android is not the premier operating system for internet users. The mobile OS nudged ahead of Windows by a 0.02% margin. For the longest time, no other operating system could come even close to Windows when it comes to internet usage, yet that situation has come to change.
It is important to note these figures represent a combined market share of internet usage across desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile devices combined. Considering how Windows has become such a household name over the past two decades, their lead over other operating systems seemed to be insurmountable. However, Android has been gaining even more market share among mobile users over the past few years. Additionally, a lot of consumers use their mobile or tablet as their “primary” computer.
Statcounter CEO Aodhan Cullen referred to this development as “the end of an era”. Microsoft is no longer the undisputed worldwide leader of the operating system market cap. Moreover, Android only held 2.4% of the global internet usage share five years ago. Such spectacular growth is rather unprecedented in the technology sector. Then again, the bigger question is whether or not Android can hold onto its lead over Windows.
The growth of using smartphones to access the Internet is not the only trend attributing to this change. PC sales have gone down over the past few years, and it appears that the decline will continue throughout 2017. Windows has never been a popular mobile operating system, despite best efforts by Microsoft and Nokia. However, there are other areas where Windows can make a big impact again over the next few years, though.
Augmented reality, AI, and the Microsoft Continuum project are just a few examples of how the “battle for supremacy” of internet usage is far from over. Furthermore, Microsoft is still the dominant force in both desktop and laptop segments, as OS X represents only 5.17% of the market cap. Linux represents 0.75%, whereas “unknown” and “other” operating systems represent 2.85% and 2.3% respectively. It will be interesting to see how these statistics look a few months from now, that much is certain.
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