It is, according to StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen a “milestone in technology history and the end of an era.”
What happened? It seems that Microsoft no longer owns the dominant operating system (Windows). It’s now Android that has the world’s most popular operating system in terms of internet usage.
“Google’s Android has overtaken Microsoft Windows for the first time as the world’s most popular operating system (OS) in terms of total internet usage across desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile combined,” noted the firm. “In March, Android topped the worldwide OS internet usage market share with 37.93 percent, which puts it marginally ahead of Windows (37.91 percent) for the first time.”
“It marks the end of Microsoft’s leadership worldwide of the OS market which it has held since the 1980s,” noted Cullen. “It also represents a major breakthrough for Android which held just 2.4 percent of global internet usage share only five years ago.”
The main drivers? The growth of smartphones to access the internet, a decline in sales of traditional PCs, and the impact of Asia on the global market, according to Cullen.
Windows does still dominates the worldwide operating system desktop market (PC and laptop) with a 84 percent internet usage share in March.
“Windows won the desktop war but the battlefield moved on,” said Cullen. “It will be difficult for Microsoft to make inroads in mobile but the next paradigm shift might give it the opportunity to regain dominance. That could be in Augmented Reality, AI, Voice, or Continuum (a product that aims to replace a desktop and smartphone with a single Microsoft powered phone).”
