Android To Overtake Windows Online

Statcounter has released data that shows Android is set to overtake Windows as the OS that takes the majority of the world online. 

I suppose I knew it was going to happen sooner than later.  I suppose it’s “sooner” than I thought but it is what it is.

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-android-close-overtaking-microsoft-windows-worldwide-internet-usage-statcounter-2017-3

Conversation 14 comments

  • rameshthanikodi

    08 March, 2017 - 11:35 am

    <p>Makes sense – Android is "truly mobile", especially when you consider how many Android devices are on 3G/LTE networks. Sadly Windows has continued so be stuck with crappy wifi capabilities of the x86 platform.</p>

    • skane2600

      08 March, 2017 - 6:08 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#89187">In reply to rameshthanikodi:</a></em></blockquote><p>Not sure what you're talking about. Desktop browsing (no matter what OS or browser) is superior to any mobile solution. Desktop computing is obviously not portable and that's why it is losing Internet share, but has nothing to do with X86.</p>

      • rameshthanikodi

        08 March, 2017 - 6:42 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#89285">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>That's what you think. I'm not talking about desktops. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I'll tell you what i'm talking about. I'm talking about mobile PCs, you know, Laptops? The portable kind of desktop computing? Even with the speed and larger screen, most are disconnected when you put it to sleep. </span>Is it really superior if you're on the move and the only it can get a connection is via a another device's 3g/LTE hotspot? I'm taking about the kind of persistent connectivity that allows for you phone to receive internet notifications even when it's asleep. </p><p>x86 machines can't do that. That's where x86 is at now. Android is simply more online more often because connectivity options on the ARM platform are far ahead. Which is why despite being so-called "superior", it tends to be less online than Android devices.</p><p>The mobile web also has improved with many sites making mobile-specific speed optimizations. I don't feel like i'm missing out on much when I use the mobile web via Chrome on Android. 80% of the time, it works. I only feel like I need the larger screen and faster speed of a PC 20% of the time on the web.</p>

        • skane2600

          08 March, 2017 - 8:01 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#89295">In reply to rameshthanikodi:</a></em></blockquote><p>You can certainly get laptops with mobile broadband built-in. The reason it isn't standard is because it adds cost and most people don't need it. The number of people who care about notifications when their laptop is sleeping is even smaller. </p>

          • Dan

            09 March, 2017 - 9:25 am

            <blockquote><em><a href="#89321">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>They are special order business laptops. No laptop at Bestbuy has a cell data connection built in. The Norms don't order these laptops, they pick up a tablet that already has it built in.</p><p>I got rid of Windows last year and use my iPad Pro w/ cellular data exclusively now. I can do everything on it that my Windows laptop offered and it is on instantly, doesn't reboot multiple times per month without asking, and is always internet connected.</p>

            • WP7Mango

              09 March, 2017 - 9:49 am

              <blockquote><a href="#89454"><em>In reply to Dan:</em></a></blockquote><p>Interestingly, I got rid of my iPad (it was given to me)&nbsp;because it was rarely getting used, having been replaced by a Surface Pro 3. Yes, if I'm mobile, I connect by tethering to my phone, or I can use a USB cellular dongle. However, for me, the Surface Pro 3 can do everything the iPad can do, whereas the iPad <em>can't </em>do many of the things which my Surface Pro 3 <em>can </em>do.</p>

            • skane2600

              09 March, 2017 - 10:07 am

              <blockquote><em><a href="#89454">In reply to Dan:</a></em></blockquote><p>The conclusion you should draw from Best Buy is that very few people want or need a laptop with a cell data connection. Even Apple understands this which is why they offer iPad Pros that are WiFi only. I don't get the big deal about ordering a computer online, I did it 17 years ago. </p>

  • anchovylover

    08 March, 2017 - 2:11 pm

    <p>I wonder if all of the media reports questioning privacy violations ( real or perceived ) in W10 are slowly damaging the MS brand name. Maybe MS need to become more aggressive in refuting the claims. It may even be too late now given the poor showing of W10 market share the past six months.</p>

    • Nicholas Kathrein

      08 March, 2017 - 3:52 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#89234">In reply to anchovylover:</a></em></blockquote><p>It depends on what group of people your talking about. Businesses will know better and normals it will go in one ear and out the other. If your hyper focused about privacy which is a small niche then they will eat it up but again a small amount. Anyone who really reads sites about this most likely will ended figuring out that there really isn't anything major here that your phone isn't already doing. I wouldn't worry about it. The shiny thinks are what going to attract people to Windows 10 like the Surface Studio. </p>

  • Nicholas Kathrein

    08 March, 2017 - 2:14 pm

    <p>It's amazing if your really think about this. Ever since the day that the Andy Rubin (creator of Android) saw the announcement of the iPhone was able to create an operating system with 1.5 billion or more users. That was amazing when MS did it with Windows and now how Google did it with Android. </p>

  • WP7Mango

    08 March, 2017 - 5:03 pm

    <p>Sure, but that's like saying that the car is now more popular than the train.</p>

  • skane2600

    08 March, 2017 - 6:04 pm

    <p>To me it's kind of a "so what?" moment. </p>

  • 2ilent8cho

    09 March, 2017 - 3:33 am

    <p>Habits have significantly changed over the last 5 years, people (and i mean non tech folk here) generally don't boot up a Windows laptop to do anything now, unlike last decade where they no other option other than Mac/Linux. I know my whole family use iPads almost exclusively now while their Windows laptops (still running 7) collect dust.</p><p><br></p><p>Facebook, online banking, email, looking up info, booking tickets, shopping, getting directions, playing games are all things a lot of people now do on their phone or tablet first, these would have been done on a Windows PC/Laptop just 10 years ago. </p><p><br></p><p>This is why PC/Laptop sales are going down so fast, its no longer the first device consumers go to, it might not even be the second device…….</p>

    • skane2600

      09 March, 2017 - 9:37 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#89416">In reply to 2ilent8cho:</a></em></blockquote><p>Well, the recent sales numbers for iPads (as well as other tablets) suggest your family's experience isn't typical. It is true that many people use their smartphone for doing simpler activities but PCs and Macs continue to be dominant for more sophisticated work. And by "work" I don't mean just at a job. There's a fundamental compromise between mobile convenience and capability. Tablets are lighter and easier to carry around than most laptops, yet if you have to do a lot of typing a laptop offers a lot better experience. </p>

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