Android is officially the most popular operating system in the world in terms of internet usage, according to new data released by StatCounter. Google's operating system has managed to overtake Microsoft's Windows.
The figures released by StatCounter, covering desktops, laptops, tablets and mobiles, show that Android now powers 37.93 percent of devices connected to the Internet, while Windows has fallen to second place with 37.91 percent.
Without a doubt, the huge growth that Android has seen in recent years has been helped by its large market share (over 80 percent) in the mobile sector. This has helped Google overtake Microsoft's Windows, and StatCounter describes it as "the end of an era."
“It is a milestone in the history of technology and the end of an era,” said Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter, in a statement today.
“It marks the end of Microsoft’s leadership in the world OS market that it has held since 1980. It also represents a significant development for Android which held just 2.4% of the global market share in internet usage just five years ago.”
Microsoft's biggest problem is that its mobile platform barely exists, with Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile currently powering about 1 percent of smartphones shipped. Some other research out there puts the figure at 1.3 percent, while others claim the platform is doing much worse, with a share of around 0.5 percent.
Despite the fact that the company is a leader in desktop devices, with Windows holding a market share of around 84%, Microsoft is constantly losing ground due to the mobile platform that has essentially ceased to exist.
Smartphone sales have been soaring in recent years while PC sales have been falling every quarter. It was only a matter of time before Android managed to overtake Windows, and it's probably a change that Microsoft itself was waiting for to happen.
Redmond, however, does not seem interested in investing in the mobile sector, at least not immediately.
