Android overtakes Windows to become Internet's biggest OS

Since 1980, Microsoft has been the world-wide market leader in the operating system segment. But now the company's dominance in the operating system market comes to an end.

According to web analytic firm StatCounter, Google's Android has become the most popular operating system in the world, grabbing the top spot from Windows for the first time. Android topped the worldwide OS internet usage market share with 37.93 percent, just edging out Windows's 37.91 percent. 

The market share is represented in terms of total internet usage across desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphones combined. It's worth mentioning that device not connected to the internet was not taken into account.

The report says that Android just held 2.4 percent of global internet usage share five years ago. The main drivers of the breakthrough were growth of smartphones, a market where Android is dominating over its rival iOS and Windows. Also decline in sales of traditional PCs and the impact of Asia on the global market led also played a role in the rise of Android's usage.

However, Windows still dominates the world-wide PC and laptop operating system market with 84 percent share. StatCounter's data further reveals in North America and Europe Microsoft dominated over Android, but its in Asia, where Android had a lead across all operating system platform with 52.2 percent share compared to 29.2 percent for Windows. 

Source