Forget Windows and macOS: Linux’s market share is reaching a new high as users look for an alternative
New data suggests that Linux now has a 4.03% share of the operating system market, marking a new milestone for the developer-friendly software.
As always, it is StatCounter by bringing the data to the table through February 2024 figures, which represents a quantum leap from 3% in just eight months, while previously it took thirty years to reach that 3% milestone.
Elsewhere, there are no surprises for the rest as Windows continues to dominate, with MacOS a distant second and 6% of all operating systems ‘unknown’.
There are more and more reports about Linux
Will the growth be exponential? Nobody knows. We Are quietly excited Linux distributions have their day – even if that day will never be as momentous as dethroning Microsoft from its throne.
That’s probably not necessary – Linux has always been aimed at development environments, not general home or office use. That said, we still like that an increase in market share is driving the push to get Linux into the hands of a wider audience.
We have nothing more to add about the how Valve’s Proton compatibility layerbaked into its Steam client, bringing people who play video games to Linux, or how the continued maintenance of UI-friendly distributions like Ubuntu, which I, the writer, am very happy about after being a lifelong Windows user until last year, and Linux Mint.
While the idea of ”holding Linux dear” may make some users wary, choice is nice. Earlier. the perception that this three-horse race was ‘basically usable at all times’ / ‘Fisher Price walled ecosystem financially unfeasible for most’ and ‘weird command line driven thing that requires thought’.
There are still Linux distributions that strike a comical level of fear into the hearts of millions of people, as if it were witchcraft or a Red Scare, but by spreading the word to those who have no real idea about Linux, you can help the beginner suggest and recommend -friendly distributions – I want to try the low-spec, lightweight and sleek-looking Zorin OS Lite on an old laptop myself.