Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system
Report: Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most
used operating system
Posted 7 hours ago by Jon Russell (@jonrussell)
Mobile is today as important, if not more important, than
desktops when it comes to the internet and apps. A clear reminder of that comes
with news of a report claiming that Google’s Android has overtaken Windows as
the internet’s most used operating system.
Research from web analytics company Statcounter found
Android now accounts for a larger share of internet usage than Windows for the
first time. During March 2017, Android users represented 37.93 percent of
activity on Statcounter’s network versus 37.91 percent for the Microsoft
operating system. It’s a small gap for sure — and it refers to usage not necessary
users — but it marks a notable tipping point that has been inevitable for the
past couple of years.
Statcounter — which bases its findings on 2.5 million
websites that it claims generate over 15 billion monthly page views — tracked
the gradual converge of usage for the two operating systems over time. The
chart highlights Microsoft’s failure to challenge with its ill-fated Windows
Phone platform.
Interestingly, for Apple, the switch happened some time
ago. During March 2017, Apple’s mobile users (iOS) were close to three times
more active on the internet than users of its desktop machines (OSX).
The wider Android-Windows trend has been evident for some
time. Windows dominated, and continues to dominate, the desktop landscape, but
worldwide PC sales have declined for the past five years to reach the same
levels as 2008. In contrast, sales of smartphones continue to grow, and Android
is the operating system for the lion’s share of internet users worldwide.
Growth is highest in emerging markets like India. There, Apple has increased
its sales but remains a niche player with Android accounting for upwards of 90
percent of smartphones.
While the balance between iOS and Android is more level
in Western markets like the U.S., the influx of new internet users from regions
like Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America has tipped the scales in
favor of Android. Indeed, a Statcounter report issued last week showed that
mobile accounts for the vast majority of internet usage in countries like India
(79 percent), Indonesia (72 percent) and China (57 percent) while desktop
remains king in markets such as the U.S. (37 percent), UK (35 percent) and
Germany (30 percent).
Those numbers have seen some shift in global revenue for
developers, with China overtaking the U.S. as the most lucrative market for iOS
apps worldwide, but Android continues to lag despite a larger base of users.
A recent App Annie report found that iOS accounted for
just over 25 billion of the 90 billion app downloads made in 2016, with Android
taking the remainder. Yet iOS apps pulled in the majority of the $35 billion
paid out to publishers across the iOS and Android app stores.
That might change soon, though. Thanks again to its vast
dominance in the emerging world, App Annie is predicting that 2017 could be the
year that Android app earnings overtake iOS for the first time. That would be
another important milestone.
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