For the first time, Android leads in worldwide OS internet usage market share, according to data from StatCounter. While this is the first time on a global scale that Android has surpassed Windows in this respect, the lead is a marginal one with Android’s internet usage market share noted as 37.93-percent, compared to the 37.91-percent figure attributed to Windows.
The figures in question relate to March of 2017 and represent data based on internet usage across a number of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobiles. While March marks the first month that Android has taken the overall lead from Windows, this was something that had been slowing building. For instance, the same data study based on February’s data alluded to how Android was closing the gap with Windows – Android’s market share in February comprised of 37.4-percent, compared to the 38.6-percent noted for Windows during the same month. Which means that while Android did increase its market share from 37.4-percent to 37.93-percent (gain of 0.53), Windows dropped in market share by a bigger margin, from 38.6-percent down to 37.91-percent (loss of 0.69). Suggesting that this is a two-pronged issue for Windows, as while Android is gaining in market share, the losses for Windows over the Feb-March period was equally as important in determining these figures – it is not just a matter of Android gaining in adoption.
Of course, these figures do represent overall global internet usage and when regional usage is looked at in closer detail, Windows still remains on top in a number of places. For instance, in North America, Windows accounted for 39.5-percent of internet usage. In contrast, Android came in third with only 21.2-percent, behind iOS at 25.7-percent. The same can be said for Europe where Windows accounted for 51.7-percent compared to Android’s 23.6-percent. Although, even at the regional level, the same trends can also be seen. Comparing the figures for Feb and March and the data shows Windows dropping in the US from 40.7-percent to 39.5-percent while Android increased from 20.3-percent to 21.2-percent. Likewise in Europe, albeit to a lesser extent, Windows dropped from 51.8-percent down to the now-noted 51.7-percent, while Android picked up what Windows dropped, climbing from 23.5-percent in February to 23.6-percent in March.