End of An Era: Android Passes Microsoft Globally as Top OS

Some milestones are turning points. Some turning points illustrate that an era has passed. Even if the fact will surprise virtually nobody, it is worth noting that, in March 2017, for the first time ever, Android passed the Microsoft operating system as the world’s most popular operating system (OS) in terms of total internet usage across desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices combined, according to StatCounter.

Granted, you might argue the OS share was a tie. In March of 2017, Android topped the worldwide OS internet usage market share with 37.93 percent usage, compared to Windows, with 37.91 percent share. Five years ago, Android had market share of about 2.4 percent, notes

Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter.  

That noted, Microsoft Windows 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.

In substantial part, you can credit use of smartphones In Asia for Android’s global growth. In Asia, Android represents 52.2 percent of internet-using device operating systems,  compared to 29.2 percent share for Windows.

In other regions, Windows retains its lead. In North America Windows had 39.5 percent share in March, followed by iOS at 25.7 percent and Android at 21.2 percent.

In Europe, Windows had 51.7 percent, with Android at 23.6 percent.