Four years after Windows 7 was launched and released to the public, the operating system has finally sustained a lead over Window XP and the Mac OS. This particular version of Windows currently holds 42.76{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} of the market, compared to Windows XP’s 42.5{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7}.
Windows 7’s share of the market has risen an average of 1{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} every month since its release. It’s held steady with the decline of Windows XP which has also roughly been around a 1{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} decline per month. Vista’s share has stayed consistent at about 6{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} of the market.
Some web tracking companies are saying that Windows 7 dominated the market some 13 months ago, while others say that Windows 7 easily represents over 50{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} of the market.
Windows 8, which is only available via a pre-release earlier this year, has less than a quarter of a percent of the market. Which means that overall, Windows – for desktops and laptop computers – holds some 92{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} of the current market.
Apple’s Mac OS X has taken the lead over Windows Vista, however, after they gained another percentage point last quarter. Mac OS X is now at 7.11{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} and Window’s Vista only takes a 6.1{7e4ee7cd997d36f6dec43befd6b19c37edf0959bbf61766e988f901dd91e96d7} share.