Microsoft’s Windows is the most widely used computer operating system in the world, accounting for 67 percent share of the desktop, tablet, and console OS market in August 2024. Apple’s macOS ranks as the next most widely used operating system, while its iOS mobile operating system, the standard installation on all iPad devices, ranks fourth. Linux OS versions serve as the primary option for users who prefer open-source software and intend to avoid the influence of major OS developers. Operating Systems Operating systems serve as the underlying platforms which connect computer hardware and software. They provide users with the graphical interface through which they issue commands and perform tasks on electronic devices. Billions of people make use of these devices and their operating systems on a regular basis, meaning that the companies that develop these widely used technologies have a great deal of influence on the daily lives of internet users around the world. Although Microsoft Windows is the clear leader in terms of desktop operating systems, the company’s mobile device operating system failed to make a successful transition into the smartphone market, where Android and iOS are essentially the only two options.

Microsoft's Windows was the dominant desktop operating system (OS) worldwide as of March 2025, with a market share of around 72 percent. Apple’s Mac operating system has gained market share over the years, growing to command around a fifth of the market. Linux and Google's Chrome OS have retained small but stable market shares in recent years. Different versions of Microsoft Windows From its initial release in 1985, Microsoft Windows has gone through endless mutations. Notable versions include Windows 95, Windows XP, and Windows 7. Windows 11 is the newest addition to the family, being able to run on PCs, tablets and embedded devices. In 2022, approximately 65 million PCs were shipped with Windows operating systems installed. Apple’s Mac operating system With an equally long history, Apple’s Mac operating system (macOS, previously Mac OS X and OS X) has also evolved through numerous releases. The most recent version, macOS Ventura, is the nineteenth release of macOS. A older version of macOS, Catalina, is currently the most popular macOS, now run on 87.4 percent of Apple computers as of January 2023. macOS runs on Apple’s Mac computers, including the MacBook, which is Apple’s laptop PC product including the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, and the iMac – Apple’s desktop computer.

Windows 10 is the most popular Windows desktop operating system, accounting for a market share of around 54 percent as of March 2025. The share of devices running the older Windows 7 OS has slipped over the past year, with the newer Windows 43 running on around 31 percent of devices. A global dominance in computer operating systems Microsoft’s Windows is the most widely used computer (desktop, tablet, and console) operating system (OS) in the world with more than 68 percent of the market share. It's closest competitors — Apple's macOS and iOS — hold a combined less than 20 percent of the market. Despite its dominance in the computer OS market, Microsoft has been unable to have the same impact on the mobile OS market, where Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS split the market with a combined share of over 99 percent. Operating systems   Operating systems are the underlying platforms connecting computer hardware and software. They provide users with the graphical interface that enables them to issue commands and perform tasks on electronic devices. Almost every device today — from smartphones and desktop computers, to graphical calculators — requires an operating system to function.

In 2019, the Windows operating system was used on 72.1 percent of servers worldwide, whilst the Linux operating system accounted for 13.6 percent of servers. Compared to 2018, both companies experienced an increase to their overall market share.

In 2024, over 59 percent of developers worldwide reported using the Windows operating system for personal use, but only 48 percent reported using the OS when working. MacOS, based on Unix, had the second-largest share at 32 percent of developers using it for both personal and professional use, respectively. Linux dominates the rest of the market Among developers, Linux-based operating systems are highly favored for their flexibility and robust development environments, with Ubuntu ranking as the third most widely used distribution globally. Furthermore, other Linux distributions gained significant traction, such as Debian, Arch, Fedora, and Google’s ChromeOS among others. Android as the top mobile OS for developers When it came to mobile operating systems, Android had the highest percentage of developers using it both personally and professionally, while Apple's iOS and iPadOS held significantly lower shares. This trend extends beyond software development; Android's appeal is further highlighted by the fact that over one in four game developers globally report it as their preferred gaming platform, making it also one of the most popular platforms for game development worldwide.

Explore the Server Operating System Global Market Report 2025 Market trends! Covers key players, growth rate 13.8% CAGR, market size $126.06 Billion, and forecasts to 2033. Get insights now!

Android was the unquestioned leader of the mobile operating system (mobile OS) market in 2018, with 88 percent of all devices sold running the Android system.

Mobile OS ecosystem

Smartphone operating systems, often referred to as smartphone OS, are operating systems that operate smartphones, PDAs, tablets and other mobile devices. An operating system allows these devices to run applications and programs, therefore, bringing advanced functions to mobile devices that were previously restricted to desktop computers.

The now-discontinued OS Symbian was the first popular smartphone operating system in the world. With the launch of Ericsson‘s R380 in 2000, Symbian became the first modern mobile OS on a smartphone. By 2009, Symbian accounted for nearly half of the global smartphone operating systems market, while RIM/Blackberry, also a pioneer in this market, held around 20 percent of the share. Despite the early start, both Symbian and RIM have been almost driven out of the market as new operating systems were released. Apple introduced its first iPhone model to the consumer market in 2007, revolutionizing the market. Prior to the launch of Apple’s iPhone in 2007, smartphones were a rather niche product and had not yet attained mass appeal.

As of 2020, Apple's iPhone held the third largest smartphone market share. Since 2011, Apple’s iOS market share has varied between 14 and 21 percent.

Introduction

iPhone Vs. Android Statistics: As of 2024, Android OS-based smartphones are dominating the global market compared to iOS. However, iPhone and Android devices have the highest demand compared to other operating systems. Overall, the iPhone is known for its better user experience, improved privacy, and security, while Android significantly focuses on affordability.

As stated in these iPhone Vs. Android Statistics, developing countries are more likely to prefer Android phones than iPhones. In addition, there is more population in Asian countries; therefore, it makes a huge difference in the market share as well. These statistics specifically focus on the differences between these two brands by various segments. Let’s dive into these.Â

Microsoft’s Windows is the most widely used computer operating system in the world, accounting for 69 percent share of the desktop, tablet, and console OS market in March 2025. Apple’s macOS ranks as the next most widely used operating system, while its iOS mobile operating system, the standard installation on all iPad devices, ranks fourth. Linux OS versions serve as the primary option for users who prefer open-source software and intend to avoid the influence of major OS developers. Operating Systems Operating systems serve as the underlying platforms which connect computer hardware and software. They provide users with the graphical interface through which they issue commands and perform tasks on electronic devices. Billions of people make use of these devices and their operating systems on a regular basis, meaning that the companies that develop these widely used technologies have a great deal of influence on the daily lives of internet users around the world. Although Microsoft Windows is the clear leader in terms of desktop operating systems, the company’s mobile device operating system failed to make a successful transition into the smartphone market, where Android and iOS are essentially the only two options.

United States Employment: NF: Other Services (OS) data was reported at 5,956.000 Person th in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,886.000 Person th for May 2018. United States Employment: NF: Other Services (OS) data is updated monthly, averaging 2,546.000 Person th from Jan 1939 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 954 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,956.000 Person th in Jun 2018 and a record low of 535.000 Person th in Feb 1939. United States Employment: NF: Other Services (OS) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.G024: Current Employment Statistics Survey: Employment: Non Farm.

The statistic shows share of smartphone shipments worldwide by operating system from 2009 to 2017. In 2017, 85.9 percent of all smartphones sold had Android as its operating system.

Smartphone operating systems market - additional information

The operating system, also known as an OS, transmits user commands to all other programs and applications. It also controls the peripheral devices, such as printers or cameras. A mobile OS operates on hand-held devices, such as mobile phones, smartphones, tablets or smart watches. While OS themselves are usually available for free and are already installed on the device, the additional programs and apps are tailored specifically for each system.

As of 2014, the main players on the smartphone OS market are Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Other smartphone operating systems on the market include Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Blackberry’s RIM to a lesser extent. Symbian, which was used extensively on mobile phones and early generations of smartphones by leading manufacturers, such as Samsung, LG, Motorola and most notably Nokia, was a dominant player on the market in 2009 and 2010. Due to the growing popularity of Android, which most major smartphone manufacturers adopted as their OS of choice, and Nokia’s partnership with Windows Phone, which began in 2011, Symbian was effectively pushed off the market in 2014.

Google’s Android leads the global market with an 80 percent market share, while Apple’s iOS is second, with 15 percent. There are stark differences between regional markets; in the United States for example, the market is almost equally divided between Android and iOS.

The statistic shows the market share of the Android operating system of smartphone sales worldwide from 2011 to 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Android's market share was 84.2 percent.

Android OS - additional information

In 2003, when the smartphone market was still in its early development stages, Android. Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, with the initial intention of creating an operating system for digital cameras. Two years later, the company was acquired by Google, confirming rumors of the tech giant’s plans to enter the mobile phone market. The first Android operating system was introduced in 2007, with the goal to compete with the then-leading smartphone operating system Symbian. Android accomplished this goal by 2011, when it became the leader of the global smartphone OS market, with about 47 percent of the share, while Symbian fell to third place and was pushed out of the market by 2013.

As Symbian faded out of the market, Apple became Android’s main competitor on the mobile operating system market. However, Android has been the main player in the market since 2012, and is forecast to maintain this leadership in the coming years. In the first quarter of 2016, about 84 percent of smartphones sold to end users used Android as its operating system. Android is expected to maintain its smartphone market share of about 85 percent up to 2020, while Apple’s iOS is projected to account for 15 percent. One of the main reasons for Android’s popularity is its strong collaboration with smartphone manufacturers, such as Sony, Samsung and HTC, while the iOS is limited to operating on Apple devices.

Upon its success in the smartphone market, Android has expanded its operating system to tablets. Android had a slow start in this market, mainly due to the lack of quality applications for Android tablets. However, Android managed to overcome this issue and establish itself as the leading tablet operating system in 2012. Android is now the most used operating system for tablets worldwide, with a 67 percent share of the global market in 2015.

United States Avg Hourly Earnings: OS: Repair & Maintenance data was reported at 23.460 USD in Sep 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 23.010 USD for Aug 2018. United States Avg Hourly Earnings: OS: Repair & Maintenance data is updated monthly, averaging 19.350 USD from Mar 2006 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 151 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.460 USD in Sep 2018 and a record low of 16.800 USD in Mar 2006. United States Avg Hourly Earnings: OS: Repair & Maintenance data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G032: Current Employment Statistics Survey: Average Weekly and Hourly Earnings.

This statistic shows a forecast for the global market share held by tablet operating systems from 2013 to 2020. Android is expected to account for 61.06 percent of global tablet shipments in 2017. As of 2014, Android's most popular platform version was KitKat.

Tablet computer OS market - additional information

During the 1990s, various early versions of touch-screen display computers were launched to limited commercial success. Such devices, as the PalmPilot, the GRiDPad or the Apple Newton, were the precursors of today’s tablet computers. The launch of Apple’s iPad in April 2010 dramatically changed the market in terms of technology and consumer expectations, making tablets a mainstream product. As of 2014, an estimated 20 percent of the global population owned a tablet.

Although it was the most successful device on the tablet market when it came out, the iPad, with its own operating system, the iOS, has been losing ground in front of its competitors. As of 2015, Apple’s tablet device holds a 23.5 percent market share and has registered a slight decrease in global sales, from 26 million units in the first fiscal quarter of 2014 to 21 million units sold in its first fiscal quarter of 2015. This might be due to a sharp increase in the market size, with countless new models available to customers.

Furthermore, the iOS’ lower share on the tablet operating system market is its restriction to Apple devices alone, such as the iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, requiring specifically designed apps and programs. On the other hand, iOS’ main competitor, Google’s Android, owes its success to its strong collaboration with many mobile device manufacturers and high adaptability to various types of hardware. In fact, as of the second quarter of 2015, the so called “white box” or “no name” tablet manufacturers, which use Android as their OS, were dominating the market. In 2016, Android is projected to hold more than 60 percent of the tablet OS market share and over 80 percent of new smartphones were Android-operated devices. Microsoft’s Windows mobile OS is coming in a distant third on the tablet operating system market, but its share is expected to increase in the upcoming years.

This statistic shows the market share held by Windows phone in the global smartphone operating systems market from the first quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter of 2016. In the first quarter of 2012, Windows Mobile had a global smartphone OS market share of 2.0 percent. By the end of 2013, they had increased market share to 3 percent.

Windows operating system - additional information

Microsoft is one of the most longstanding tech companies in the world, and has unquestionably contributed to the advancement of communication technologies. The company was one of the first to develop mobile operating systems for handheld portable devices in the mid-1990s.

Their first mobile OS prototype, unveiled in 1996, was the Windows CE. In 2000, Microsoft launched PocketPC 2000, later renamed Windows Mobile, which became one of the most successful mobile OS of the early 2000s. However, Symbian, an operating system used by mobile phone brands, such as Motorola, Samsung, Sony, and Nokia, quickly became more popular. In 2007, Symbian was the leading smartphone operating system, with a 63 percent share of the global market, while Windows Mobile came in a distant second, with only 12 percent market share.

In 2010, Microsoft launched another mobile OS, Windows Phone, which replaced previous versions. Despite the introduction of a new model, Microsoft saw its smartphone market share constantly decline over the years, reaching one of the lowest figures to date in 2015. Symbian, a market leader until 2010, also lost space in the operating system market, while Google’s Android steadily gained market share over the years. In 2015, Android accounted for around 80 percent of the market. Forecasts are pessimistic regarding Microsoft’s performance on this market in the coming years. In 2015, Microsoft held about 1.9 percent of the smartphone market share. By 2020, the Windows Phone is projected to account for 0.4 of all smartphone shipments worldwide.

Microsoft also extended its operating system to the tablet OS market, accounting for seven percent of the market in the beginning of 2015. The operating system is forecast to gain space in the market, and increase its share to nearly 18 percent by 2019. Android is also the leading operating system in the tablet market, and is projected to hold 56 percent of the share.

Smartphones running the Android operating system hold an 87 percent share of the global market in 2019 and this is expected to increase over the forthcoming years. The mobile operating system developed by Apple (iOS) has a 13 percent share of the market.

How Android became the market leader Android’s global success can in many ways be attributed to its open-source software that can be installed on all smartphone devices for free. Developed by Google, the open code provides manufacturers the freedom to choose which apps are pre-installed on their devices, and they can customize layouts to create unique experiences for users. The first commercial version of the Android software was released in 2008 and its rise to market leader was almost instant. The platform held a four percent share of the global operating systems’ market in 2009, but this figure increased by around 20 percent each year for the next three years.

The global smartphone market Annual sales of smartphones have increased to around 1.56 billion units worldwide. They are now available to everyone and not just those with wealth. The cost of buying a smartphone has continued to fall each year, with the global average price now being around 215 U.S. dollars. Fierce competition within the smartphone market could be one reason why prices are falling. Samsung (South Korea) and Apple (U.S.) have historically held large shares of global smartphone production, but Chinese brands Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are now offering alternative devices that are proving popular worldwide.

Most software developers worldwide report the use of Windows operating system as their preferred development environment, as of 2021. Apple’s macOS was the second preferred operating system, followed by Linux. What is software development?   Software development refers to the process of creating, designing, and supporting software. It includes all the computer activities involved between the conception to the final manifestation of software. These activities are usually planned and put into stages in a logical order called the software development life cycle (SDLC). The software industry is an integral part of the IT market as the creative engine of the ever-involving market, and tech companies spend relentlessly on the development of new software products and the improvement of current ones. As such, software developers are well paid for their work. Programming languages & salary   The increasing demand for software developers is set to see their total population increase from over 20 million in 2018 to close to 29 million in 2024. Among a good deal of different programming language options, JavaScript is the most widely used programming language by software developers worldwide. Languages such as Erlang, however, which brings in the highest wages with averages of over 100,000 U.S. dollars per year as opposed to the 60,000 U.S. dollars earned on average by Java developers.

United States AHE: sa: PW: OS: Automotive Repair & Maintenance data was reported at 26.170 USD in Jan 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 26.180 USD for Dec 2024. United States AHE: sa: PW: OS: Automotive Repair & Maintenance data is updated monthly, averaging 14.700 USD from Jan 1990 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 421 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.180 USD in Dec 2024 and a record low of 9.020 USD in Jan 1990. United States AHE: sa: PW: OS: Automotive Repair & Maintenance data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G071: Current Employment Statistics Survey: Average Hourly Earnings: Production Workers: Seasonally Adjusted.

In 2023, Android held a nearly 80 percent share of the global smartphone OS market. Android's smartphone sales has been decreasing gradually since 2019, when it held a staggering 87 percent of the market, due to Apple's smartphones' increasing share.

Why is Google’s Android OS dominating the market? One reason for Android’s large market share is that it is an open-source platform, allowing mobile phone manufacturers to use and adapt the operating system for their own devices. Samsung, who run their own customized version of the Android operating system, currently have the largest share of global smartphone sales by vendor. In contrast, Apple’s iOS software is a closed-source platform, meaning they can control the user experience and make it available exclusively on their mobile devices, including the iPhone and iPad. This model has also proved profitable: Apple generated 69.7 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from iPhone sales alone in the first quarter of 2024.

Changing trends in mobile OS market Android and iOS are the leading mobile operating systems today, but back in 2009 the market was much different with Symbian and RIM (Research In Motion) holding close to 70 percent of the sales market share. Symbian operated on Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson devices, while RIM only functioned on BlackBerry smartphones. Both developers were slow to anticipate the changes within the mobile operating systems’ market and were ultimately left behind by the innovative approach of Apple and Google.

Denmark New Enterprises: OS: Advertising & Market Research data was reported at 480.000 Unit in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 538.000 Unit for 2021. Denmark New Enterprises: OS: Advertising & Market Research data is updated yearly, averaging 510.500 Unit from Dec 2019 (Median) to 2022, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 538.000 Unit in 2021 and a record low of 480.000 Unit in 2022. Denmark New Enterprises: OS: Advertising & Market Research data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Denmark. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Denmark – Table DK.O012: Enterprise Statistics: Number of Enterprises: New: Danish Industrial Classification 2007.