14 DAY TRIAL // Windows is the dominant operating system on PCs around the world, but depending on whom you ask, it’s either becoming even more popular or actually collapsing at an insanely fast pace (the latter scenario typically belongs to Linux users, who very often predict the end of Windows).
But if you look at the stats provided by market research firm Net Applications, Windows not only remains the number one desktop operating system but it’s also improving its share, thus proving that it’s far from losing the leading spot anytime soon.
It’s generally believed that Windows is powering some 90 percent of the world’s desktop computers, and analysts have predicted that once the operating system drops below this threshold, its decline would continue rapidly until either Linux or Mac OS X takes its place.
Windows 10 Threshold 2
Back in June 2015, before the debut of Windows 10, Microsoft’s desktop operating system had a share of 90.85 percent, but its decline started once the new version came out.
In July, the share dropped to 90.65 percent before eventually going up to 90.84 percent once again, most likely as more non-Windows users tried Windows 10 on their devices.
Two months of decline followed, with 90.54 percent and 90.42 percent market share being reached in September and October, respectively, but the arrival of Threshold 2 on November 15 caused a huge bump in Windows 10 adoption figures and in Windows share in general.
Windows is now running on 91.39 percent of the world’s computers, which is almost the same level as in January 2015, when 91.56 percent of the PCs were powered by Microsoft’s OS.
Certainly, Windows is far not only from losing its dominant desktop position but also from dropping below 90 percent, despite the criticism and despite the pessimistic forecasts of some analysts. For the moment, Windows is the number 1 desktop operating system, and things are highly unlikely to change in the next decade.