As if it wasn’t obvious enough that computing is going increasingly mobile, a recent report from StatCounter says that Android is now just behind Windows in terms of the most popular operating systems for getting online around the globe. According to the analytics firm, 38.6% of global internet usage came from Windows in February 2017, while 37.4% came from Android.
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Here’s how quickly Android has caught up to Windows in terms of global internet usage (MSFT, GOOGL, GOOG)
It's another symbol of the world going mobile.
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That the most popular mobile OS is gaining on the most popular desktop OS isn’t news at this point, but as this chart from Statista shows, the rate at which Android is gaining ground is notable. Just a year ago, StatCounter had Windows up by more than 20 percentage points. Five years ago, it was ahead by 80 percentage points.
As StatCounter notes, Google’s gains have been driven in large part by upticks in Asia and developing markets; Windows remains twice as popular in both North America (where even iOS is slightly more used to get online) and Europe even with its recent losses.
Nevertheless, the numbers are yet another symbol of the rise of smartphones — and of Microsoft’s failure to fully get onboard.
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