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Windows Drops Under 60% in Global Desktop OS Share for the First Time in Years (linuxiac.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/linux@programming.dev
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StatCounter’s June 2026 report shows Linux at one of its strongest recent positions, while Windows falls to 56.55%.

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[–] 89 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (12 children)

Idk why everyone is always looking at statcounter. I still feel like Cloudflare probably has better data.

Desktop OS usage graph from Cloudflare Radar. Last data point: Windows 74%, MacOS 20%, Linux 5.2%

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  • [–] 33 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    It feels like macOS is somehow over represented there. Specially for a global statistic. In many countries macs are completely residual, where I live I almost know more people using linux than mac.

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  • [–] 12 points 4 months ago

    These are http requests, so it could be inflated from the larger proportion of software engineers using macOS, who also make significantly more requests than average, including in their usage of ai...

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  • [–] 22 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Yep, seems about right.

    The only thing this does not count are the offline devices. But in todays day and age, how many don't connect to the internet in some way or form?

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Whats up with android and iOS? They are counted, since they have their own colors, but shouldnt they be quite visible? I have a hard time believing there is more linux/macOS than android/iOS out there

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    • [+] 39 points 4 months ago (4 children)
    [deleted]
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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago*

    You say that but did you know that our new bowl of broken glass now come with the new groovy lemon© * topping?

    *** : the "groovy lemon" topping is not to be legally considered as lemon and may induce in some people nausea, headaches, cramps or digesting issues, the final user waive any legal rights or reclamation while using our products.

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    • [–] 143 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (13 children)

    Okay, but StatCounter's graph (edit: here) clearly shows that "unknown" is what's cannibalizing most of that – and this is specifically measuring web traffic.

    "Lemmy celebrates the rise of bots polluting web traffic stats because they didn't bother to read the article beyond a misleading headline that reaffirms their biases."

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  • [–] 23 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    Hell yeah! bots polluting web traffic in a way that reaffirms my biases! 🥳

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  • [–] 47 points 4 months ago (8 children)

    Looking at the included chart (below), I don't think the growth in "unknown" is the primary factor of Window's decline in market share. The chart does show, over the last two data points, that Mac OS and Linux have increased at the same time that Windows has decreased.

    This is all but one data point anyway, so it's not fair to draw a long-term conclusion based on that regardless.

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  • [–] 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (5 children)

    Those "last two data points" are two months. For OS X, there's some upward movement the last two months (about 3%, which isn't a lot given it spiked late last year from 8.3% to 14.07% to 8.2% in a span of three points), while Linux is practically flatlined with a very light upward incline just the last month.

    To the extent StatCounter is useful to begin with, the Linux point is functionally meaningless while the OS X increase of a few percentage points may or may not be significant; trying to divine a trend from twitches in those two points is reading noise. Look at the "unknown" line, meanwhile, and see how it begins mirroring Windows' decline around mid–late 2025. It rose from 11.3% in September 2025 to 21.5% in June 2026. That represents actual, meaningful, lasting change.

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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    Yes, that's pretty much what I said in the line of text under the graph.

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  • [+] -9 points 4 months ago* (2 children)

    You completely debunk the idea that "I don't think the growth in "unknown" is the primary factor of Window's decline in market share." in the same comment you said it? Because what you said makes absolutely no sense in the face of the actual numbers.

    I expound on the two points because you can't just rest your argument on them and then limply, vaguely disclaim that it's terrible methodology.

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  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I'm not seeing much of an increase there for Mac or Linux. I'm not sure how you drew those conclusions from this graph.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago

    This is a zero sum graph, as market share must add to 100%. You may observe that the one large decrease in Windows market share occurs at the same time as three small increases for Mac OS, Linux, and "unknown".

    Nothing else increased. The three small increases must be equal to the Windows decrease.

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    • [–] 30 points 4 months ago

    Well I can't speak for the whole world but by my Windows usage dropped 100% from 2025 to 2026.

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    [–] 24 points 4 months ago

    Quick add more dogshit unwanted features and spyware to extract the maximum value out of customers over the short term!

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    [–] 19 points 4 months ago

    I hope they never recover.

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    [–] 18 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    "Unknown" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

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    • [–] 17 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    I'm not surprised. Between privacy concerns, forced features, and Linux becoming easier to use, the barrier to switching is lower than it used to be.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I just Minted my old laptop that I last used like.. 2-3 years ago to try out Ubuntu (which didn't go well.) The progress is huge and I'm really very confused on how well things work now, even all my games on Steam?? When did this all happen?? Gonna make the switch on my main PC in few weeks.

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    • [–] 16 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Incoming rename to Copilot OS.

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    • [–] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

    That number seems rather low. I can see that number for overall OS share, including mobile devices, but for desktop I'd expect Windows to be a lot higher.

    EDIT: Thinking about it further, if you included mobile devices, then Android would have to be even higher than Windows is here. Either way, these numbers look off.

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    [–] 11 points 4 months ago

    Even if the numbers are a little off, that's a wonderful sight. Those of us using Linux for decades it feels like the early days of the internet when AOL users came flooding in.

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    [–] 10 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    StatCounter lists OS X at 11.89% and macOS at 4.48% for June 2026

    What?

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    Os x is the older name for it and likely un upgraded devices. Macos is the current name for it and newer, upgraded os's.

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    • [–] 10 points 4 months ago

    I'd take that with a big pinch of salt since the shortfall is "unknown". Probably means they're picking up a fuck ton of bot traffic and there's nobody at the wheel over at StatCounter...

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    [–] 9 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    In the chart “unknown “ has an impressive share is it any good?

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    • [–] 7 points 4 months ago

    I will switch to a computer for work with Linux or MacOS. The current situation with Windows is not OK. You need to get your shit together again basically.

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    [+] -1 points 4 months ago (5 children)
    [deleted]
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  • [–] 10 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    Browsers and most games run on linux. Why keep using an OS with a profit motive behind it that's often against your best interests as a user?

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  • [+] 5 points 4 months ago (3 children)
    [deleted]
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