Dive Brief:
- Android is closing in on Windows as the world's most-used operating system, according to StatCounter, a company that monitors internet traffic, CNET reports.
- StatCounter found 37.4% of devices online were Android, while 38.6% were Windows.
- While Android use has been growing steadily over the last five years, Windows has dropped just as quickly. In 2012, Windows was used by 82% of devices accessing the internet.
Dive Insight:
People love their smartphones, and the StatCounter data is further proof that they are the device of choice over desktop PCs. As people rely on smartphones to conduct more personal and business activities, it follows that the Android OS will be used more and Windows will be used less.
While PC and tablets sales were forecast to decline from a total of 435 million units in 2016 to 418.2 million units at the end of 2021, according International Data Corporation, sales of smartphones continue to accelerate. In 2016, smartphone sales to end users totaled nearly 1.5 billion units, an increase of 5% from 2015, according to Gartner.
Among smartphone users, Google’s Android OS captured 82% of the total market in the fourth quarter of 2016. It was also the only OS to grow market share year on year, according to Gartner. Remember BlackBerry, once king of the smartphones? In the fourth quarter it reported 0.0% of the market share.
