Last month, Neowin reported that Linux surpassed 4% market share for the first time according to Statcounter. Now, Linux has managed to further increase its market share from 4.03% to 4.05% to further secure its position.
One interesting note is that Statcounter doesn’t include Chrome OS in the Linux market share even though it is using the Linux kernel. The Linux data includes distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora, and Linux Mint.
Speaking of Chrome OS, it remained flat in terms of market share staying at 2.27% of market share. It has actually fallen quite a bit since September when it was at 3.89% market share.
The education sector is a main driver of Chrome OS because users simply sign in with a Gmail account and all of their apps are where they left them even on a new machine because it all syncs with Google Chrome. This setup is a lot less of a headache for schools managing many children.
With Microsoft planning to retire Windows 10 in October 2025, many customers will have to decide whether to buy a new Windows 11 computer. For some people, this simply isn’t an option; in those cases they will either continue running a vulnerable Windows 10, or switch to another operating system that is compatible with their hardware such as Linux.
It will be very interesting to watch how things go after the retirement date of Windows 10 to see if Windows 11’s stringent hardware requirements backfire and hurt Microsoft’s grip on the desktop landscape.
Next month, we have two big Linux releases coming. Firstly, there will be Fedora 40 shipping with the latest GNOME desktop. Several days later, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS will launch. The new Ubuntu version will be supported with updates until 2029 - this is great for anyone who wants to hang on to existing hardware but can’t upgrade to Windows 11.
Source: Statcounter