In January 2012, the global market share of Windows exceeded 82 percent. Mobile devices had already begun their advance, but Microsoft's dominance was overwhelming. Half a decade later, the rules of the game are very different. Redmond never understood the mobile space, failed on more than one occasion with its initiatives, and left everything ready for Android to become the most used platform on the planet, fueled by cheap gadgets and the Asian explosion.
Most likely, if you're buying a mobile device, the first offer you'll see is based on Android. Of course, you can always look at Apple's options, and there are still units running the sterile Windows 10 Mobile, but it's not a coincidence. Most manufacturers adopted Google's alternative because of its clear benefits (with 'zero cost' and its modification potential at the head), and what started as a direct rival to iOS is about to become the most used operating system in the world. What stands in its way? Obviously, the classic versions of Windows.
The Desktop War
According to StatCounter, Android closed February with a 37.4 percent share, against Windows' 38.6 percent. The decline Windows has recorded in five years is chilling. Microsoft began 2012 dominating more than 80 percent of the market. While Redmond paid a fortune for Nokia only to throw its corpse to the side of the road, Android kept gaining ground, one device at a time. Windows holds 84.1 percent of the conventional computer market, and StatCounter acknowledges that it "won the desktop war", though it also highlights that the battlefield has evolved. Windows remains firm in both the United States and Europe, but it is falling apart in Asia, with a 29.8 percent share that pales in comparison to Android's 51.8 percent.
The Road Ahead
All of Microsoft's bets are on Windows 10, its compatibility with ARM architecture, and the vision of a single experience regardless of the device. On the Android side, the arrows point to an inevitable merger with Chrome OS, a decision that would allow it to adopt a much more robust update system than it has today and reduce the impact of fragmentation.
