Android knocks Windows off its OS-leading pedestal

The dominance of Microsoft Windows as the world’s most popular operating system came to an end this week, with the release of fresh data suggesting Google's Android system had inched ahead of it.

Web analytics company StatCounter released statistics on Monday, showing the Android smartphone operating system had a 37.93% share of the global market in internet-connected devices in March.

That was just above Microsoft Windows, which had a 37.91% market share.

The figures are a stark contrast to just five years ago in 2012, when Windows captured an 82% market share of internet connected devices, and Android had just 2.4%.

“This is a milestone in technology history and the end of an era,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter.

“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% of global internet usage share only five years ago.”

Cullen said the main drivers of the breakthrough were growth of smartphones to access the internet, a decline in sales of traditional PCs and the impact of Asia on the global market.

Windows still dominated the worldwide operating system desktop market - PCs and laptops - with a 84% 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.”