10% Of OS Market Share Enjoyed By Windows 8 And 8.1

Microsoft Corporation introduced two new versions of its popular Operating system series Windows, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, in the space of a year. To be precise, though Windows 8.1 is full version Operating System software, it is generally considered as an update of Windows 8 operating system. The great thing about Windows 8.1 is that it is absolutely free for Windows 8 users. So, in case you are planning on downloading Windows 8 (free for Windows 7 users),after installing Windows 8, you could upgrade it to Windows 8.1, but you have to pay the actual price of the Windows 8.1 update. Rather than downloading Windows 8 and then upgrading, Windows 7 users can buy the Windows 8.1 software DVD or USB drive.

Net Applications, looking at the overall computer operating system market across the globe, released the latest numbers regarding the market share percentages of different Operating Systems. According to the report, the newest versions of Windows, Windows 8 and 8.1 are making its presence felt in the operating system market that is still dominated by older versions of the Operating Systems around the world.

As per the data released or published, the numbers show that Windows 8 and 8.1 combined to pass 10% mark of the global OS market. The statistics show that Windows 8 and 8.1 improved in December 2013, by 10.49% combined. Windows 8 gained a minor 0.23% during December, with Windows 8.1 advancing and improving its position by 0.96%.

The interesting fact is that the predecessor of Windows 8, Windows 7 grew by 0.88% during December. Windows 7 is the most popular version of Windows in the world with 47.52% of the market. Windows Vista has only 3.61% of the market. Windows XP is the second most common version of Windows with 28.98% of the market.

Another interesting fact is that it is the first time Window XP has fallen below 30% of the worldwide OS market. Among the non-Windows OS, the Mac OS has 7.54% of the global operating system market, whereas Linux has a scant 1.73% of the market. NetApplications gets its data from a massive and staggering 160 million visitors to 40,000 client websites each month.

Only time can say how the versions will perform in the future. Rumor has it that Microsoft is also planning to introduce Windows 9 next year, which will supposedly bring back some of the old-school features.