Microsoft's Windows has long been the world's most popular operating system, but not anymore. Windows is no longer on top.
For the first time ever, Google's Android mobile operating system has managed to trump Windows and become the world's most popular OS. This further goes to prove how mobile has soared and in today's mobile-driven world, Android rules the game.
Android Dethrones Windows
Web analytics firm StatCounter published its latest report on global internet usage across all platforms and found that for the first time ever, Android grabbed a 37.93 percent internet usage market share in March, trumping Windows' 37.91 share. It's a slight edge, but it still serves as testament of how important mobile has become in terms of internet and app usage.
"This is a milestone in technology history and the end of an era," highlights StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen. "It marks the end of Microsoft's leadership worldwide of the OS market, which it has held since the 1980s. It also represents a major breakthrough for Android, which held just 2.4 percent of global internet usage share only five years ago."
While the gap between Android and Windows in terms of internet usage market share is minor, it still marks a huge milestone that's been expected for a couple of years now.
Apple Ranks Third
On Apple's side of things, the shift has happened a while ago and the gap is now far more significant. During the same month - March 2017 - Apple users were three times more active online on iOS than on OS X desktops.
While Windows continues to dominate the desktop scene, PC sales have drastically declined globally in the past several years while smartphone sales have continued to surge. Android and iOS are the dominant players on the mobile landscape, but Android holds the lion's share of mobile internet users worldwide.
Considering that smartphones have basically become mini PCs and they're widely used for surfing the web, and most of these smartphones worldwide run on Android, it's hardly a surprise that Android finally dethroned Windows.
That said, when it comes to worldwide internet usage for the month of March, Android came on top as the most used platform, Windows grabbed the second spot, and Apple's iOS ranked third, with less than half the market share of Windows and Android - just 13.9 percent.
These figures are at a global scale, but Apple does top Android in North America, where it accounts for 25.7 percent of internet users as opposed to 21.2 percent using Android to surf the web.
Mobile vs. Desktop: Internet Usage
Another StatCounter report from last week revealed that mobile makes up for most of the internet usage in markets such as Asia, the Middle East and Africa. For instance, mobile accounts for as much as 79 percent of internet usage in India, 72 percent in Indonesia, and 57 percent in China.
Internet usage on desktop, however, still rules the game in markets such as the United States, the UK, and Germany, where it holds 37 percent, 35 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
