Android overtakes Windows to become the new King of OS

In Pakistan, over 57 per cent of internet consumers used Android devices to go online last month

Google achieved another milestone last month as Android has overtaken Microsoft’s Windows to become the most used operating system on the internet.

According to a report by the analytics firm StatCounter, “Google’s Android has overtaken Microsoft Windows for the first time as the world’s most popular operating system (OS) in terms of total internet usage across desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile combined.”



The report found that in March, devices running on Android accounted for a major chunk of overall internet usage market share with 37.93%, enough to put it marginally ahead of Windows (37.91%) for the first time ever.



In Pakistan's case, the result is heavily tilted in favour of Android. Last month, over 57 per cent of internet usage in the country came from Android devices as compared to around 27% traffic coming from Windows and just four per cent from devices running iOS.

“This is a milestone in technology history and the end of an era,” StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen commented.  “It marks the end of Microsoft’s leadership worldwide of the OS market which it has held since the 1980s.  It also represents a major breakthrough for Android which held just 2.4% of global internet usage share only five years ago,” he added.

However, Windows still dominates as the undisputed worldwide king of operating systems for the desktop market (PC and laptop) with an 84% internet usage share in March.



“Windows won the desktop war but the battlefield moved on,” said Cullen. "It will be difficult for Microsoft to make inroads in mobile but the next paradigm shift might give it the opportunity to regain dominance. That could be in Augmented Reality, AI, Voice or Continuum (a product that aims to replace a desktop and smartphone with a single Microsoft-powered phone)."