Android inches ahead of Windows as most popular OS

Somehow we thought this had already happened, but it appears Google's Android has just overtaken Windows as the internet's most popular operating system.

That's according to web analytics firm StatCounter, which on Monday released statistics marking the "milestone in technology history and end of an era" with Microsoft no longer owning the dominant OS when you look at internet usage across desktop and mobile devices combined.

With Android a mobile OS, the news is just another reminder of the dominance of portable devices in our lives. StatCounter found that in March, Android grabbed a 37.93 percent share of the worldwide OS internet market, barely overtaking Microsoft Windows' 37.91 percent share for the first time. And note the trend lines in the chart below: Windows is on a steady march down from 82 percent in 2012, while Android is mirroring it upward from 2.2 percent in the same five-year period.

StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen attributed the "breakthrough" to not only the growth of smartphones worldwide, which give more people access to the internet, but also a decline in sales of traditional PCs.

A Microsoft representative declined to comment specifically on Android taking over Windows, but added: "We are pleased that there are more than 400 million monthly active devices running Windows 10, and most importantly, that Windows 10 has the highest levels of product satisfaction over any previous version of Windows."

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First published March 3, 10:55 a.m. PT.
Update, 3:29 p.m.: Adds comment from Microsoft.