No, Not Windows Mobile, but the full version of Windows that runs on PCs. Android made one big step to surpass Windows, which has been the most popular OS since its inception. Android took the crown off Windows by a small margin but nonetheless, this is major bragging rights.
According to the independent web analytics company StatsCounter, Android overtook Windows as the world’s most popular operating system in terms of total internet usage across desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile combined. Android topped the worldwide OS internet usage market share with 37.93%, with Windows just behind at 37.91%. iOS has a market share of 13.09%, OS X at 5.17% and Linux holding the tail at 0.75%.
Not surprisingly, when we come closer home, Android still leads in Africa with close to 50% maerket share at 43.48%. Windows follows at 35.06% with *drum rolls* Series 40 OS (the operating system that runs on Nokia’s feature phones has a market share of 2.07% in Africa. Yes, we really do love feature phones.
In Kenya, Android is King, at 59.02% market share with Windows at 13.99%. Series 40 is at 3.14%, while Linux has a 1.74% market share.
The stats also show that Windows 7 is the most popular desktop windows version at 47.06% market share. Followed closely by Windows 10 at 34.25%. Windows 8.1 has a market share of 9.62%, Windows XP at 5.47, Windows 8 at 2.44 amnd Windows Vista at 1.07%.
Speaking to Android Central, StatsCounter CEO, Aodhan Cullen, said that the main drivers of this breakthrough have been the global growth of smartphones usage for connecting to the internet, decline in sales of traditional PCs, and the impact of Asia on the global market. Microsoft Windows still owns the majority market share among desktop operating systems (PCs and laptops) and also remains the dominant operating system across all platforms in North America (Windows at 39.5%, iOS at 25.7%, Android at 21.2%), but Android’s growth on the global stage does highlight our growing reliance on mobile technology.
The full stats can be found here.
