Within the desktop operating system (OS) marketplace, Windows continues to hold a substantial advantage over its competitors overall, but the growth rate of its newest OS version, Windows 8, has flattened in recent months.
As Microsoft prepares to announce its Q4 2013 earnings on July 18, 2013, Chitika Insights examined key usage statistics across the software giant’s Windows product portfolio as they pertain to the North American market. Within the desktop operating system (OS) marketplace, Windows continues to hold a substantial advantage over its competitors overall, but the growth rate of its newest OS version, Windows 8, has flattened in recent months.
To quantify this series of studies, Chitika Insights examined billions of online ad impressions from U.S. and Canadian users running Windows. Data for the Windows 8 graph were drawn from a date range of October 2012 through June 2013. Data for the overall OS usage share graph were drawn from two specific date ranges, April through June 2012 and April through June 2013.
Windows’ hold on the continental desktop OS marketplace remains as strong as ever. While this is certainly good news for Microsoft, it is tempered by the continued growth of mobile Web browsing, where the company is not as strong, along with the more gradual slope of Windows 8 growth rate within North America. However, Microsoft’s decision to make some changes to the recent Windows 8.1 update may spur more users to adopt the new OS, as the company has attempted to address some of the user concerns surrounding the initial version of the software.
