It’s nearly been two years since Windows 8.1 has graced our PCs. Arriving shortly after Windows 7, widely acknowledged as the best Windows Operating System to date, it has struggled since it’s inception to capture as much market share as possible, a task it has failed to do so over its tenure.
Now however, it’s gotten past one more hurdle. It is now the second most popular Windows OS available, having just edged past Windows XP and capturing up to 13.1% of web traffic during the month of June according to Web tracker Net Applications. While it may not seem like much, it’s still slightly better than the 12.8% score it had in May.
Meanwhile, Windows XP’s share plummeted to 11.9% from 14.6% over the same period of time. The most likely resurgence of Windows 8.1 is probably due to the fact that Windows 10 will be readily available as a free upgrade to users of 8.1. Not surprisingly, the biggest share of the PC Operating System market goes to Windows 7, which ranks No.1 at a whopping 60.9% of overall web traffic.
Windows 10 itself is expected to face an uphill climb from the get go. Despite being offered as a free upgrade, for the first few months, the problems associated with Windows 8.1 have left many skeptical that the upcoming OS will deliver. One of the strategies Microsoft is employing to ensure that Windows 10 permeates the market is the revival of the Start Menu, whose disappearance was a sticking issue for users of Windows 8. Another feature is tweaking Windows apps so you can run them as a normal desktop application.
But perhaps the greatest step Microsoft have taken in ensuring that Windows 10 will thoroughly saturate the plateau of PCs is by marketing it as the unifying OS: it will also be readily available to use on tablets and phones, creating an ecosystem where a single OS provides a stable nexus for different platforms.
