Windows 8 Struggles to Gain Market Share

The latest figures from NetApplications show that Windows 8 has captured just 2.2 percent of the market so far. That puts the operating system far behind where Windows 7 was at a similar point after its release.

Computerworld’s Preston Galla observed, “That latest sales figures for Windows 8 are far from encouraging: It has only a 2.26 percent market share as of the end of January, trailing not just Windows 7, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, but even Mac OS X 10.8. So reports NetApplications. This doesn’t bode well for the ultimate success of the operating system.”

CNET’s Lance Whitney asked, “How has Windows 8 fared in comparison with Windows 7 during its initial launch months? Not too well. Windows 7 officially debuted in October 2009. By January 2010, Windows 7 had already won a market share of 7.71 percent, according to Net Applications’ stats.”

ZDNet’s Zack Whittaker cautioned, “Before you get either disheartened—or gleeful, depending on where your loyalties lie—while Microsoft’s share of its latest operating system remains slow by comparison, the share trend shows that it’s rapidly increasing.”

Looking at the bigger picture, The Next Web’s Emil Protalinski noted, “We’re entering a new year, and already Windows 7 has lost market share for the first time since its release…. At the end of 2012, Windows managed to increase its market share after six months of losses, mainly thanks to Windows 7 and Windows 8. With Windows 7 slipping for the first time, however, Windows is back to losing share.”