Operating System Statistics By Revenue, Usage, Consumer Preference, Trends And Market

Introduction

Operating System Statistics: The operating system is still at the cradle of modern technology. They are what makes a computer function; these are computers like laptops and desktops as well as tablets or phones. A wide-ranging user interface is provided by an OS that also manages all hardware resources such as CPU, RAM, etc., making sure users interact seamlessly with applications available on their devices.

Over time, a handful of stakeholders have dominated the global market for operating systems targeting different classes of devices and users’ needs. This paper explores operating system statistics for the year 2023 and the early part of 2024, including but not limited to market share, demographics of user engagement, and revenue generation from them. From its continued presence in the desktop computer sector, commanding 75% share out of  60, Microsoft Windows retained its position as the leading operating system statistics in 2023 forever.

Dominance by Windows was largely due to its extensive usage in businesses, educational institutions, and personal computing environments. By far, Windows 10 was still the most popular version; meanwhile, Windows 11, launched towards the end of 2021, took three decades to own 18% share by December 2023.

Editor’s Choice

• Android was on 71.74 % of cell phones in 2024.
• The Google Play Store had 2.67 million apps as of March 2023.
• The ever-increasing demand for computing systems mainly drives such rapid growth in this market. Almost all supercomputers operate using Linux.
• By 2023, 41.2% of the global population was using the Android operating system, with 2.8 billion active users.
• Samsung has maintained its position as the top Android supplier since the platform’s inception. It has taken 34%, while Xiaomi has taken 14%.
• Moreover, Windows still dominates the desktop and laptop market at 73% market share.
• Also, 93% of all Android users are reportedly satisfied with their OS, which they find satisfactory.
• Moreover, 92% of people who use Android would endorse him, while 93% reported that it met their needs.
• Besides, around 95% of G2 reviewers rated Windows 11 as either four or five stars, respectively.
• According to operating system statistics made in December 2024, Windows XP still managed to stand out with a share of 0.64% even though it became obsolete long ago.
• In terms of size, by 2023, Asia-Pacific had become the leading operating system statistics market, and it is poised to remain the most rapidly expanding one by 2028.
• As of 2023, 2.8 billion people were using Android OS, and in 2024, 71.74% of smartphones around the world will have this operating system installed.
• The Global Operating System (OS) statistics are expected to be worth USD 46.67 billion by 2024, and the expected CAGR growth rate between 2% and 4% will hit USD 50.69 billion by 2028.
• In January 2021, Android 10 had its highest market share ever, at 43.13%. By 2023, the total number of Android users worldwide must have been around 3.3 billion.

Key Facts

• Only Android has 23.96% of the global market for mobile operating systems alone.
• By 2022, 38% of developers were making games for smartphones and tablets.
• Google estimates that teachers use 30 million Chromebooks.
• Around 52% of tablets shipped in early 2021 ran on Android, while 80% of desktop PCs with Windows OS were powered by Windows 10.
• As it stands now, iOS accounts for about 26%, compared to Android’s 73%. By June 2021, Apple’s macOS, which is found on most of its computers, had an estimated market share of around 16%.
• In September of the same year, macOS had a desktop and laptop operating system share of 9.54%.
• The Linux desktop market share is between 1.74% and 2.18%, while Windows 10 is the leading desktop OS at 43.53%.
• However, as of February 20, 2016, mobile adoption rates were as high as 72.35% in small countries located in North America, like Haiti, but they have reduced to 64.43%.
• Operating system statistics saw revenue increase a mere 1.1%, indicating it is a mature segment of the market.
• The operating systems are Android and iOS only, with 84.1% of smartphones being powered by Android that same year. Per IBIS World, in the United States, there are now 307,391 people working in the field of Operating Systems & Productivity Software Publishing as of 2023.
• According to operating system statistics, Windows 95 once had an average market share of 48.28%, making it the most prominent OS.
• However, desktop computer usage worldwide went down to only 44.9% during early 2017; smartphones still occupy most parts of many developed nations.
• It was speculated that global shipments of mobile phones, tablets, and conventional PCs would increase by 42% in 2014.
• According to StatCounter, macOS High Sierra ranks third among other common operating systems in terms of international status, commanding 5.62% of the global market share.
• StatCounter has reported that macOS High Sierra is the third most used OS globally, with a market share of 5.62%.
• Approximately 25% of Apple users have downloaded El Capitan, the firm’s latest OS. The “Other” category tops browser usage in Madagascar with 34.9%, while Opera Mini 4.4 is a leading web browser with 22.1%.
• Since early 2022, an unidentified OS has accounted for 61.7% of the desktop market share.

Market Share of Operating Systems Worldwide

(Source:statista.com)

• As of February 2024, Microsoft Windows continues to be the most used computer operating system in the world, with a percentage of 68.15% of the desktop, tablet, and console OS market share.
• The second most popular operating system is Apple’s macOS, while iOS, which is installed on all iPads, is the third.
• Users who prefer open-source software and avoid reliance on mainstream OS developers settle for one or more versions of Linux, which is usually preferred.

Operating System Shipments By Desktop

(Source: kma.ie)

• According to operating system statistics, the number of worldwide desktop goods sent out fell in 2023 compared to the previous year.
• Lenovo came first in the first quarter of 2023, shipping out 12.8 million units, which represents a 30% decrease year on year. Similarly, other major desktop manufacturers experienced shipment reductions; HP shipped out only 12 million (a decline of 24%); Dell’s shipment stood at 9.4 million (a reduction of 32%); and Apple shipped about 4.4 million (a decline of 38%). Asus had 3.9 million desktops shipped, which represented a drop of 28%, while others contributed 14.1 million (a fall of 23%).

List of Operating Systems

• Before the advent of modern operating systems, there was a time when Fortran Monitor System (FMS), GM-NAA I/O, UNIVAC I Operating System, IBM 650 Tape System, Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS), IBM OS/360, Batch Processing Monitor (BPM), and Dartmouth Time Sharing System (DTSS) were used in computer programming.
• Today’s Linux and FreeBSD, as well as macOS, NetBSD, and OpenBSD, are based on Unix, while HP-UX (Hewlett Packard), Solaris (Oracle), AIX (IBM), MINIX, Tru64 UNIX, and QNX IRIX (SGI) are some of its POSIX-compliant operating systems.
• On the other hand, there were exclusive computer operating systems that existed during the first years of computing, including Apple Computer TRS-DOS or ROM OS, among others such as TI99-4 or Commodore PET, whose names changed with time to give birth to terms like Business Operating System(BOS) Flex Flex9 mini FLEX Sinclair Micro Sinclair QX.

In addition to these manufacturers, these are some brand-specific operating systems:

• Apple: MacOS, TV OS, IPadOS, MacOS Server, Watch OS iOS
• Windows: Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.0-3.1 (Win95); Win98 Win Me (Millennium Edition) Win2000 XP Vista 7 8 8.1 10 11
• IBM:Os/360; z/os; IBM-i; AIX; OS/2
• Google: Chromium OS; Fuchsia; Wear OS; Linux; Android.

Volume of Operating System

(Reference: coolest-gadgets.com)

• Operating system statistics indicate that the world desktop market is expected to hit 54.3 million units in 2023, which is a 1.7% growth compared to last year.
• The forecasted desktop PC volumes and their percentage changes for the next years are the following: 54.5 million units in 2024 (0.3% increase), 55 million units in 2025 (1.0% increase), 55.5 million units in 2026 (1.0% increase), 56.3 million units in 2027 (1.4% increase), and 57.1 million units in 2028 (1.3% increase).

Operating Systems Technologies Market Share

(Reference: wappalyzer.com)

• CentOS (7%): CentOS is one of the most popular Linux distributions, with a 7% market share. This is because it has advanced enterprise features, is always stable, and has long-term support. However, after moving on to CentOS Stream as their main project, some companies have been migrating towards other distributions, such as Debian or Ubuntu, leading to a decline in CentOS usage.
• UNIX (7.8%): In terms of server operating systems, UNIX has 7.8% of the total market share. Even though it was once king in corporate environments, UNIX has lost out to operating systems that rely on Linux over time. Currently, some sectors, like finance and telecommunications, are still dependent on it because they need its stability and dependability in their legacy systems.
• Debian (9.5%): Debian has 9.5% of the share when it comes to servers among other Linux distributions. The main reasons why people prefer using Debian several times are its reliability and broad software support, which make it suitable for open source-driven organizations’ working environments as well as personal ones, despite their sizes ranging from small businesses to huge enterprises.
• Windows Server (40.7%): Windows Server dominates the server operating system market with 40.7%. This is mainly preferred in enterprises, particularly those that rely heavily on Microsoft suites such as Active Directory, SQL Server, and Exchange. Since it integrates well with other Microsoft products, many organizations use it for corporate IT infrastructure.
• Ubuntu (32.3%): At this level, Ubuntu is ranked second at 32.3% among the best available software on web servers globally. Its user-friendliness and wide range of software also make it attractive to users. The functionality of the cloud, developers, and companies embracing a containerized environment give it a large number of followers, too, hence its position among top distributors globally in the server domain.

Mobile Operating System Market Share

(Reference: statista.com)

• According to operating system statistics, the Android operating system had the highest market share of 71.44% compared to other platforms, including iOS at 27.89%, Samsung at only 0.35%, and Windows Phone with a minimal value of 0.02%. Furthermore, the Android market share was 68.96%, 70.46%, and 70.11% in Q2, Q3, and Q4, respectively.

Operating Systems Market Revenue

• Microsoft’s Windows operating system continued to be the biggest earner in 2023, raking in approximately 15 billion US dollars. This figure includes direct sales of the OS and licensing fees paid by various manufacturers.
• However, even though it is still in its infancy stage, Windows 11 played a key role in this revenue stream due to its tight coupling with new hardware.
• On the other hand, during the same period, Apple made about 8 billion US dollars from macOS through hardware sales linked to the OS. Apple devices come bundled with macOS, therefore contributing significantly to Apple’s total revenue.
• As an open-source platform, Linux does not earn direct revenues from sales but rather plays an important role in this market, where some companies like Red Hat and Canonical (the publishers of Ubuntu) offer commercial support services for it.
• It is estimated that the enterprise software market generated $5 billion in 2023.
• According to operating system statistics, Android earned $20 million through various application sales, advertisement placements within its applications, and licensing fees charged to smartphone producers who use these operating systems to capture smartphones for themselves during the year 2023 alone.
• Apple also made around $60 billion in revenues from such streams, while the App Store stood out as one of the leading profit centers, bringing in nearly $50 billion at one time.

Operating System Usage and Consumer Preference

• Cost of the device, efficiency, safety, and faithfulness are some of the reasons behind personal computer customers’ choices of operating systems.
• Due to its compatibility with the majority of software applications and hardware devices, Windows remained the most preferred OS by businesses and learning institutions in 2023.
• MacOS was chosen by creative professionals and users who wanted a better ecosystem experience that allowed it to work with other Apple devices, such as iPhones or iPads.
• Android was mostly favored in terms of price and customization for mobile operating systems, particularly in Asia and Latin America.
• Conversely, iOS was more popular in the United States, Europe, and Japan, where consumers look for better performance, security features, and high brand status.

Future Trends

• As we progress into the year 2024, various trends are influencing the landscape of operating systems.
• Cloud-centered and virtualized operating system statistics are poised to acquire more acceptance, especially in business domains.
• As a result, Linux, which is commonly used within cloud infrastructures, and Windows, which has been extending its cloud inclusion through products like Windows 365, have advantages.
• Security and privacy issues will continue to inform what consumers want. This will bring competition between companies like Apple, where the major point of sale for macOS or iOS has been privacy to this day.
• On the other hand, Google is implementing AI-enabled features into Android with the motive of improving the overall user experience and the device’s performance.

Conclusion

The operating system statistics market is projected to experience relatively strong development and transition in customer preferences. In desktop computer systems, Microsoft’s Windows remains widespread, whereas in devices like mobile phones, Android remains preferred by most people. However, Apple’s macOS and iOS are gradually taking up space, particularly at the upper ends of the market, due to their staunch brand loyalty and preference for privacy and security features.

While Linux has maintained its position as a key player in server operating systems, it has also found new territory within cloud-based computing systems, resulting in higher levels of acceptance. The competition amongst these software platforms will stimulate additional progress, which will ultimately benefit consumers and organizations alike.

Maitrayee Dey

Maitrayee, after completing her graduation in Electrical Engineering, transitioned into the world of writing following a series of technical roles. She specializes in technology and Artificial Intelligence, bringing her experience as an Academic Research Analyst and Freelance Writer, with a focus on education and healthcare under the Australian system. From an early age, writing and painting have been her passions, leading her to pursue a full-time career in writing. In addition to her professional endeavors, Maitrayee also manages a YouTube channel dedicated to cooking.

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