Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 up both in April 2013 according to NetMarketShare

Martin Brinkmann
May 1, 2013
Updated • May 1, 2013
Microsoft
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While usage statistics are not the most thorough data sets in regards to determining a products rising or falling trend throughout the months, they provide us with the means to spot trends nevertheless. While I'd wish that Microsoft or a company like Google would reveal those information publicly, it is all we have right now.

According to the latest data collected by NetMarketShare, Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system is continuing its slow but steady climb. The operating system's usage share increased from 3.29% in March 2013 to 3.84% in April 2013. One indicator that the data is not the most reliable is that the usage share of Windows 8 Touch devices - tablets - dropped from 0.12% in March to 0.02% in April. That's why it makes sense to look at trends, in this case a slow rise, instead of analyzing the values in detail.

What we can certainly say is that Windows 8's rise is slower than that of the Windows 7 operating system in the same time period. The operating system has no momentum right now that would increase its growth significantly. Two events may change that in the near future. First the release of Windows 8.1, Blue, or whatever Microsoft will call it, and then in 2014 the end of support for the Windows XP operating system. It is unlikely that the operating system will see a large increase in usage share before that.

windows 8 usage share
Usage share April 2013

As far as leading operating systems go: Windows 7 is in the lead with 44.72% followed closely by Windows XP with 38.31%. All remaining operating system versions are below the 5% mark right now.

Things look better as far as Microsoft's Internet Explorer 10 browser is concerned. The Internet browser made a big leap from 2.93% in March 2013 to 6.02% in April 2013. This can be largely attributed to the release of the final version of the browser for the Windows 7 operating system. It is likely that the growth will continue but slow down somewhat in the coming months.

The Internet Explorer browser family is in the lead usage share wise according to NetMarketShare with 55.81% followed by Firefox with 20.30% and Google Chrome with 16.35%. Internet Explorer's and Firefox's usage share has remained near constant in recent time while Chrome's took a dip. It is not really clear what caused the drop but it is significant enough (from 19% to 16%) to matter.

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Comments

  1. Duckeenie said on May 1, 2013 at 6:35 pm
    Reply

    Unable to edit previous post.

    Should have said I’m currently on Windows 7.

  2. Duckeenie said on May 1, 2013 at 6:34 pm
    Reply

    I have to admit for a long long time a really didn’t get Windows 8 and I fought back hard against it because I saw it as a broken “Explorer” replacement, but I now I see it nothing more than a fancy start menu replacement. I really don’t mind that so much and I’m beginning to see some of the beauty in it.

    I’m still a little worried that Microsoft will try to phase out traditional APIs and push dev’s in the direction of their app store so that they can maximize profits.

    Anyway…I don’t really see any urgency for me to jump ship just yet so I think I’ll see how things pan out for a year or two.

  3. Anonymous said on May 1, 2013 at 4:58 pm
    Reply

    Win8 is on most new computers, with very little consumer choice for the the average punter who doesn’t know what OS means. MIE10 comes with it. That the market share is rising is hardly surprising and no indicator either of popularity or informed consumer preference.

    I have Win7 on my desktop, Win8 on my laptop. There are days when it’s a positive relief to get back to Win7.

  4. ilev said on May 1, 2013 at 1:06 pm
    Reply

    ” Two events may change that in the near future. First the release of Windows 8.1, Blue, or whatever Microsoft will call it, and then in 2014 the end of support for the Windows XP operating system. It is unlikely that the operating system will see a large increase in usage share before that.”

    Nothing will help Windows 8. It is doomed.
    80% of enterprise don’t even consider moving to Windows 8, ever.
    By the next year, after Microsoft will end support to XP (I don’t think it will ), We will have Windows 9 replacing Windows 8.

    There is a reason why Microsoft embraced NetMarketShare reports. IE’s world market share is about 30% not 55%. It is 50%+ in US.

  5. Gonzo said on May 1, 2013 at 12:22 pm
    Reply

    Win XP numbers still amaze me. Pulling the plug on XP next year is really going to shake things up.

    In the interest of being thorough:

    Win 7 usage is down .01%
    Vista usage is down .24%
    Win XP usage is down .42%

    What I’d really like to see are the total number of hits. How much marketshare are PC’s loosing to mobile?

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