Windows 8 Market Share Hits 10%

windows-8-logoI’ve been reading on a well known tech blog how Windows 8 has been responsible for a sharp decline in PC sales, pointing the blame squarely at the new operating system’s slow adoption rate. These people obviously have very little grasp of the intricacies of the market place and overall influencing factors.

While one cannot deny that the statistics clearly show a decline in PC sales, to suggest that Windows 8 is the primary contributor is utter nonsense.

*Firstly; there are many contributing factors, not the least of which is the mobile device revolution which has snowballed to staggering proportions over the past 12 months or so. Logic dictates that a massive increase in one area of the market place must be reflected by an exponential decrease in another area (or areas).

*Secondly; adoption rates almost invariably reflect the popularity of the previous operating system and, to a certain extent, advancements in PC hardware. When users are happy with their existing operating system and see no benefit from upgrading hardware, it naturally follows they will be reluctant to change.

It really gets up my nose when tech blogs try to pander to a vocal minority, and especially when they obviously have very little, or no idea, what they are talking about.

Anyway, with the news that Windows 8 market share has finally hit the magic 10% mark, I though it might be timely to take a look at how operating system market share figures ended up overall for 2013.

According to the well respected NetMarketShare, the following are the standings as at 31st December, 2013:

Credit: NetMarketShare
Credit: NetMarketShare

As you can see, Windows 7 still dominates while Windows 8 plus 8.1 combined has reached 10.49%. What’s more interesting (or revealing) are the ‘trend’ statistics for 2013:

Credit: NetMarketShare
Credit: NetMarketShare

Note XP’s rapidly declining market share. This is only to be expected of course, and with XP’s end-of-support date drawing ever nearer, I suspect we’ll see an even greater rate of acceleration over the coming months. It’s interesting to see that Windows 7 gradually increased its market share through 2013, particularly over the closing months… again obviously attributable to migrating XP users.

So, the new year will see the inevitable decline of the venerable and most popular XP operating system, an end of an era.

March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection ~ Khalil Gibran

Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward ~ Victor Kiam

There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Finally, if you’d like to read something really positive about change and the effect it has on people I highly recommend you read the following article by Leo Notenboom: Embracing the Most Important Attitude. It is a very interesting read, and I entirely agree with Leo’s sentiments.

3 thoughts on “Windows 8 Market Share Hits 10%”

  1. unfortunately here in Oz you cannot buy a new computer unless it has Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. If you want Windows 7 you must buy second hand. Received my Windows 8.1 3 weeks ago, a long learning curve from XP. Most annoying thing my Canon Pixma MP800 is uncompatible and Canon is no help.

    1. Hi Robyn – Not sure where in Oz you are, or where you are shopping, but I’m in Oz, Queensland actually, and I can buy as many brand new Windows 7 machines as I like.

      I’m surprised to hear that about your Canon printer, hardware support in Win 8 is fantastic, best ever.

      How do you know your Canon is incompatible, have you tried just connecting the USB cable and letting Windows install its own generic driver? That worked for me with my old Epson.

      Cheers… Jim

  2. Already bought a copy of Windows 7 to replace my XP, which I will surrender when they pry my cold dead……..heck that’s April but I’m sticking it out just to say I did. I’ve guided five computer purchases over the past two months, every one of them to Windows 7, even when they had to pay a premium to do so. It’s worth it. This is the new Vista: great kernel surrounded by the most godawful collection of cell phone excrement this side of Nokia. The operating system formerly known as Metro is a complete loser and until I can opt out completely, Microsoft will not be a contender for my business.

    Android showed what an alternative operating system can accomplish on tablets. Linux, especially Ubuntu Linux, is poised to do the same thing for the PC. It can happen overnight. I hope Microsoft sees the light of day. But if they don’t none of us will miss a beat. Only they will lose.

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