Windows loses market share to Mac OS

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 2nd November 2009
Comments (28) Stumble
Windows loses market share to Mac OS

Windows 7 might be proving popular amongst the cognoscenti, but overall Windows is losing ground to rival Mac OS X.

Windows 7 is certainly gaining traction in the marketplace, but appears to be doing nothing to stem the flow of users to rival Apple's Mac OS operating system.

Figures from market watcher Net Applications - via Electronista - show that the launch of Windows 7 resulted in Microsoft's latest operating system rising to a 2.15 percent share of the computer market last month, which is pretty good for an operating system that was only on active sale for nine days during that period.

Overall, however, the news isn't great for Microsoft: despite still having an overwhelming majority of the market at 92.52 percent, Windows has lost ground to its rival Mac OS X which has now reached a 5.27 percent share - an all-time high for Apple's operating system, helped in no small part by the popularity of the company's iPhone devices.

While the launch late last week of the latest version of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution may be helping to encourage adoption of Linux on the desktop, Net Applications' research shows that there is still some way to go: despite desktop Linux having made great strides recently, Linux platforms still account for less than one percentage point of operating system market.

Net Applications' figures show that the bad news continues for Microsoft, with the company's flagship web browser Internet Explorer is barely hanging on to its majority hold on the market with 64.64 percent - with the loss made from users switching to Firefox, Chrome, and Safari which have seen their shares of the market rise to 24.07, 3.58, and 4.42 percent respectively.

Do you believe that Windows 7 will help Microsoft regain the ground it has lost to Apple, or is there a reason users are abandoning Windows for the fruitier side of the market? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Quote Rkiver 2nd November 2009, 14:06
Well perhaps this will push Microsoft to innovate a bit more. Dropping the price of Windows 7 was certainly a step in the right direction this time around. Overall the Mac OS is a fairly decent OS, it's just that Apple machines aren't all that and a bag of chips. They look great, but their overall performance is mediocre at best for what they charge.
Quote Flibblebot 2nd November 2009, 14:08
Apple might have grown their market share thanks to the iPhone, but what if you only look at desktops and laptops - i.e. devices where you can actually change the operating system? I can't imagine Apple would do so well then.

Including the iPhone as an installed Apple OS is a pointless statistic, because it's not as though you can opt to use another OS, is it?
Quote GoodBytes 2nd November 2009, 14:19
That little increase in MacOS, is mostly due to some people buying Macs to develop iPhone software on it, as you can't do it in Windows, which explains what the article links it to the iPhone popularity.
Quote lewchenko 2nd November 2009, 14:40
I thought MAC's once had 8% of the market a few years ago... then it dropped and dropped to like a lowly 3%, and appears to be climbing now again... amazing really considering the price of the damn things !
Quote UrbanMarine 2nd November 2009, 14:42
It's kind of funny this whole Mac vs PC war. I used a new Mac this weekend at a friends house and found it to be more of a pain to use. It was cool and fancy, but I'd never use 80% of it's features.
Quote Zippy 2nd November 2009, 14:49
You can't opt for a different OS in the iPhone but you can opt for a different phone, I wonder if windows mobile was included in Windows?
Quote Whalemeister 2nd November 2009, 15:27
HA! that makes me laugh; Mac OS X has a 5.27 % share and Apple's browser Safari only has a 4.42 % share... Even the Mac fanboys don't like Safari!!!!

Can't stand Macs, style over substance!
Quote lp1988 2nd November 2009, 15:39
I would like to see seperate numbers for private laptops and desktops. I would believe that the number i far higher when we are talking private laptops as there are a huge amount of corporate desktops that are helping to keep Windows in the lead.
Quote gavomatic57 2nd November 2009, 16:17
Windows 7 RC was such an insult I bought a macbook pro and to be fair, I don't feel like I have been robbed. OSX is a bit different and takes some getting used it - and not without it's faults, but it is nice to use and the improvement I have seen in Snow Leopard over old Leopard justified the £10 I paid to upgrade. I don't see W7 as a step forward over Vista x64, especially after two service packs and a platform upgrade that included DX11. If you have been using XP, anything is an improvement. If you stopped using Vista after it launched with a few problems, W7 may seem like an improvement, but Vista SP2 works just fine now. I'll save my money and just buy more RAM with it.
Quote GoodBytes 2nd November 2009, 16:26
Quote:
Originally Posted by gavomatic57
Windows 7 RC was such an insult I bought a macbook pro and to be fair, I don't feel like I have been robbed. OSX is a bit different and takes some getting used it - and not without it's faults, but it is nice to use and the improvement I have seen in Snow Leopard over old Leopard justified the £10 I paid to upgrade. I don't see W7 as a step forward over Vista x64, especially after two service packs and a platform upgrade that included DX11. If you have been using XP, anything is an improvement. If you stopped using Vista after it launched with a few problems, W7 may seem like an improvement, but Vista SP2 works just fine now. I'll save my money and just buy more RAM with it.

That is because you barely used Win7.
I think anyone here, knows how much I know, used, and likes Vista 64-bit. I tested (public beta - RC) Windows 7 and I find it worth it, even the full price form Vista. It has enough improvement and features to justify it's price. And no, it's not because "Vista sucked", Vista was clearly better than XP.
Quote ssj12 2nd November 2009, 17:01
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flibblebot
Apple might have grown their market share thanks to the iPhone, but what if you only look at desktops and laptops - i.e. devices where you can actually change the operating system? I can't imagine Apple would do so well then.

Including the iPhone as an installed Apple OS is a pointless statistic, because it's not as though you can opt to use another OS, is it?

this is only the PC marketshare... you know the physical desktop towers and monitors that we always talk about on this site. This has nothing to do with the iPhone.
Quote apexwm 2nd November 2009, 18:23
2010 will be interesting for Apple and Microsoft. Unfortunately though, both Windows and Mac OS X are proprietary operating systems, and have restrictions on them (although Apple has FAR less restrictions than Microsoft). I am hoping to see better numbers for Linux. 1% of the market is miniscule, but keep in mind this requires the users of the entire 1% to be purchasing and installing their own operating system. Windows and Mac OS are available in retail stores and come installed by default, Linux does not. The fact that 1% is ditching Windows/Mac OS X and installing Linux says something. Hopefully others try Linux and see what actual free software (free as in free to use the computer the way YOU want to) is made of.

<a href="http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux">http://members.apex-internet.com/sa/windowslinux</a>
Quote Scootiep 2nd November 2009, 18:41
Personally, I don't like MAC's and haven't since the 7th grade. But what i do like is competition. It drives innovation and value in any industry. So while I will most likely never own another Macintosh, I say more power to them. Knock Windows down a few notches and make them work harder to earn my money.
Quote nilesfoundglory 2nd November 2009, 19:33
Coming from an academic tech support environment, I've seen an even year-over-year growth in the Apple market. End users on my campus are switching to Mac OS in droves mostly for the 'simple yet elegant' appeal of the hardware and the 'It just works' OS. Now, we all may know that Windows 7 has helped Microsoft in the latter field (and, in some instances, put it ahead of Mac OS), it doesn't help that Microsoft can't anticipate every piece of hardware going into every system sold with Windows, which makes streamlining hardware compatibility a near impossibility (without bloating the Windows OS to epic proportions, anyway). While more advanced users are willing to accept this fact and take the appropriate measures to ensure compatibility and stability, the general populace doesn't want to deal with such tasks and lament such maintenance as a headache. I feel Windows 7 will do some part in stemming the tide, but Apple will continue their due diligence and continue to innovate by updating their existing products for better user integration and create new products that find ways of defining or refining new or emerging product markets.
Quote Coldon 2nd November 2009, 19:53
so wait, windows 7 gets half of apples entire market share in 2 weeks and all the headlines read: apple is gaining market share?

5% isnt a lot, and yes while OSX just works, it's not really suited for any sort of serious work short of video editing (final cut pro) and that piece of software is pretty much the only redeeming feature i can think of...
Quote ZERO <ibis> 2nd November 2009, 20:56
Still though it is sort of funny to see Microsoft lose overall market share to an OS that is actually even worse than the new ones it makes.
Quote karx11erx 2nd November 2009, 21:24
bit-tech.net starting to believe Electronista is a good news source makes me start to believe bit-tech.net is about to be a bad news source.
Quote Coldon 2nd November 2009, 21:30
also just to point out their survey is done on internet traffic stats, cause last time i checked the iphone OS doesn't work on PCs.

at the end of the day there is that lovely saying: Lies, damned lies, and statistics
Quote LucusLoC 2nd November 2009, 23:52
windows is for business. windows is for gamers. windows is for hardware gurus and overclockers. windows is for media.

apple is for college hippies, grandmothers and non nerds that still want to seem tech savvy (that is my opinion and i am sticking to it). all you can really do with apple are office work, casual games, and some media editing.

want to play triple a game tittles? better get a PC (or a console). want to upgrade hardware to something of your choice? PC. want to get some random software for CAD or MIDI or any number of other things? bet on getting a PC.

Why? because Microsoft lets *anyone* develop for their system. and since they are a software only company (not "and hardware too!" like mac is) they make their OS compatible with pretty much any standard hardware, and have a HAL and driver layer that allows them to interface with most non standard hardware as well.

plus there is all the business apps, such as AD, exchange etc. that interface directly with windows. mac has nothing that comares.

in short, windows dominates becuase it is supirior in many, many ways. it is a better system. don't get me wrong, i am not a "windows fanboy" and if you show me a better system i will jump ship in a heartbeat, but for now windows rules, and rules for a reason.
Quote SMIFFYDUDE 3rd November 2009, 00:24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scootiep
Personally, I don't like MAC's and haven't since the 7th grade.

Year 9 at school for me, the time the original i Mac was introduced to the IT classrooms. I didn't like the mouse it had and i've disliked Apple ever since. Come to think of it, I got my first Windows PC that year. But im not an irrational Apple hating PC fanboy, honest.

APPLE SUCKS! :P
Quote Ross1 3rd November 2009, 00:36
the iphone has taken over from the wii as the offical shovelware platform of choice. IMO its not a great title to have, but apple seem to be fine with it, as did nintendo, so whatever floats your boats/makes you easy money.
Quote Autti 3rd November 2009, 01:19
Wow mac hate some more? Do you realise that Mac makes windows better?
What is more amazing is the profits the company can churn out with such a small share.

I liked bit-tech's article on how to build a Mac killer a while back, it really showed that their computers aren't as over-valued as some think (except for upgrades those are a kick in the teeth).
Honestly i think both OS are great for different things, I have windows7 and its fantastic, does everything i want. But i also have a Macbook Pro (mostly because it was the cheapest 13" laptop with decent performance around) and i love it for taking to uni and typing up my notes and browsing the web.
I think the increased market share though has come from cheaper prices, Macbook's are now very cheap and aren't that slow and offer good battery life and look the best. iMac's are becoming a lot cheaper but aren't that overpriced for when you consider what it is, Mac Pro's are criminally priced though.
Quote GoodBytes 3rd November 2009, 02:11
It's not Mac hate. It's people saying how Mac OS doesn't fit their needs, remember that you ARE in a computer enthousiast forum.. people love.. sorry... I meant LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVE building their own computer(s), modding things, folding (not paper, but protein folding.. ok well.. some like to fold paper all day...), and of course play games, editing audio, video, pictures, photograph, CAD, opening their own LAN store, cooking bacon with their old CPU and putting sleeves on cables and much more crazy over the top things. :D
Quote Ghys 3rd November 2009, 02:36
there are some MACs at my uni (ETS, you must know what it is goodbytes) and I am glad I always have my laptop with me. I don't get this OS it's so weird...I mean... why the hell can't I maximize a window ? LOL
Quote gavomatic57 3rd November 2009, 08:22
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoodBytes
That is because you barely used Win7.
I think anyone here, knows how much I know, used, and likes Vista 64-bit. I tested (public beta - RC) Windows 7 and I find it worth it, even the full price form Vista. It has enough improvement and features to justify it's price. And no, it's not because "Vista sucked", Vista was clearly better than XP.

I spent two months on it - long enough to form an opinion. I really don't understand the hype.
Quote azrael- 3rd November 2009, 08:43
I really find it laughable to compare MacOSX' share of 5.27% to Windows 7's share of 2.15% gained after only a couple of weeks on sale, when Windows as such still has a share of more than 90%.

Who would expect all Windows (XP mostly) users to switch to Windows 7 overnight? Not even Goodbytes, I'd wager... :p

The "losing ground" bit really tops it off... :D

EDIT: The Inq really sums it up nicely. I especially love the Steve Ballmer bit...
Quote sear 3rd November 2009, 11:46
Quote:
Originally Posted by Autti
What is more amazing is the profits the company can churn out with such a small share.
You mean by grossly overpricing every single one of their products?
Quote Shagbag 3rd November 2009, 12:34
Two corporations pursuing two completely different corporate strategies. While there is some overlap in their respective target markets, there is no head-to-head competition between the two for OVERALL market share.
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