Statcounter: Windows 10 overtakes Windows 7 as the most popular Windows version for Internet usage

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by Radu Tyrsina 

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Last month, Windows 10 finally beat Windows 7 as the most popular desktop OS to browse the web worldwide according to Statcounter. The independent web analytics company, which data is based on over 10 billion page views per month to over 2 million websites, says that Windows 10 had a 42.78% desktop market share worldwide in January while Windows 7 fell to 41,86%.

“Windows 10 was launched at the end of July 2015 and Microsoft will be pleased to have put its Windows 8 experience behind it,” said Statcounter CEO Aodhan Cullen. “However, Windows 7 retains loyalty especially amongst business users. Microsoft will be hoping that it can replace it a lot quicker than XP, launched back in August 2001, which only fell below 5% usage worldwide in June of 2017.”

It’s worth noting that Netmarketshare, which uses a slightly different methodology disagrees with Statcounter: according to the company, Windows 10 remained close to 10% points behind Windows 7 in January.

While it’s difficult to know which company got closer to the reality, Statcounter’s data also combines desktop and mobile operating systems. Unsurprisingly, Android remained the most popular OS for Internet usage in January with a 40,05% usage share (36,56% for Windows). Looking closer at mobile platforms exclusively, Statcounter’s data also reveals that Windows Phone had a 0.61% usage share worldwide in January: This matches the latest data from Kantar, which showed that Windows phones accounted for less than 1% of smartphones sold in most markets in Q4 2017.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina Shield

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.