For the past year now, Windows, Mac OS X and Linux have been the number 1, 2 and 3 operating systems worldwide in terms of market share. This is no longer the case as Linux has lost the 3rd spot, leaving Apple platforms to occupy both the second and third positions on the OS market.
Statistics now indicate that while Windows continues to account for the largest number of users worldwide, with the Mac platform as runner up, customers running various Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPod, are in greater number than those running the Linux open source operating system.
Windows enjoys a market share of 91.34%, with Mac OS X at 5.00%, iOS at 1.13% and Linux with just 0.85%, according to Net Applications.
“In order to more accurately describe usage share for Apple devices, the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad are now being grouped under their common operating system 'iOS'.”
“Each of these devices can still be tracked separately using the Operating System Versions report. When these devices are combined, they have over 1% of global browsing share, which is now higher than Linux,” Net Applications reveals.
Windows 7 has continued its strong growth, Net Applications revealed, jumping from 14.46% in July 2010 to no less than 15.87% in August.
Microsoft already revealed that it sold in excess of 175 million copies of Windows 7. The company is projected to push over 300 million Windows 7 licenses by the end of 2010.
Windows 7’s success comes in the detriment of its predecessors. Windows Vista dropped from 14.34% to 14.00% in the past two months, but it was Windows XP that suffered the largest market share loss.
XP went down from 61.87% in July to 60.89% in August, and if the trend continues, the OS released in 2001 will fall below the 60% market share milestone in by the end of September 2010.
At the same time, August 2010 marked the fifth consecutive month in which Mac OS X lost market share. Apple OS for Mac computers went down from 5.33% in March to 5.32% in April, 5.26% in May, 5.16% in June, 5.06% in July and 5.00% in August.
At the same time, iOS, which jumped over the 1% milestone between June and July, is now up to 1.13%.
By comparison Linux dropped under 1% market share between June and July, and dropped again this past month to just 0.85% of the market.
