Android use surpasses Windows, but should you care?

The news that Android use has reportedly overtaken Windows use around the world recently emerged. But is it particularly surprising? Not really. Android is far and away the dominant force in mobile, running on everything from super-cheap phones to not-so-cheap tablets and even laptops.

Windows, by contrast, is primarily a desktop OS that hasn't made much of an impact on the global mobile market.

So does it make sense to look at these two platforms in a black-and-white numbers comparison? Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of each platform knows that Android is used primarily on phones, Windows on PCs. Chrome OS is now allowing Android apps on laptops, but unless you're looking at the Lenovo Yoga Book, that's probably not considered "Android usage."

If you haven't visited Android Central in a while, they published an article that Android is the most-used OS in the world, taking into account desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile. Android surpasses Windows as the world's most popular OS What do you guys think? Should we be concerned about this? Should we separate each form factor for a clearer picture? Is this nothing of interest?

Leonel Funes

Or maybe it is.

But should you even care? Shouldn't you be more interested in a category-by-category breakdown instead? Or does the situation spell bad news for Microsoft? Let's us know what you think in the Windows Central Forums, where there's already a hot thread dedicate to this very topic.

Windows surpassed by Android?

Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine