Windows 8 and 8.1 Finally Topple XP in Market Share

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

A once mighty giant has fallen

With so many people clinging to Windows XP despite Microsoft's repeated attempts to bury the legacy OS and the lukewarm (at best) response to Windows 8, it didn't seem like the latter would ever overtake the former in market share. Never say never, right? For the first time ever, the combined share of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 is higher than that of Windows XP, based on the latest data provided by Net Applications.
Windows XP's share of the market has been slowing declining for the past couple of years, but the biggest plunges have only occurred recently. Here's a rundown:

• August: 23.89 percent
• September: 23.87 percent
• October: 17.18 percent
• November: 13.57 percent

Just five months ago, Windows XP was still found on a quarter of all PCs; now it's fast approaching just 1 out of every 10 systems. This recent rapid decline has allowed Windows 8 to catch up and surpass XP, at least if you factor in version 8.1 installs as well. The combined share for both platforms for the past four months looks like this:

• August: 13.37 percent
• September: 12.26 percent
• October: 16.8 percent
• November: 18.65 percent

Data from StatCounter tells a similar story, though with different numbers. According to StatCounter, Windows XP's share of the desktop is down to 11.84 percent, trailing Windows 8.1 at 12.12 percent and Windows 8 at 5.42 percent, which combine for a 17.54 percent share of the market.
Of course, Windows 7 is still the go-to OS for Windows users. Net Applications and StatCounter have Windows 7 sitting handsome at 53.71 percent and 55.75 percent, respectively.
Image Credit: Flickr (Daniel Oines)
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