Okay, so this may sound like a joke but it’s really not. In it’s first month on sale the market share for Windows 7 has surpassed the total market share for OS X.
Figures released yesterday show that Windows 7 passed the magic 5% last weekend to sit at an estimated 5.14%. This compared favourably to the 5% market share that Apple have with their operating system.
So is this news? It’s a clear indication that sales of Windows 7 are storming ahead and that Microsoft’s new operating system has indeed been extremely well received by the press, public and business. But with the total Microsoft Windows market share sitting at 92.5% it’s still got a huge mountain to climb to replace Windows XP and Vista on desktops around the world.
The Christmas holiday and new year sales are now just around the corner and it will be interesting to see how the figures for Windows 7 rise during this period, and how it’s share of the overall Windows marketplace changes as a result.
But to compare like with like against OS X is, I feel, a misnomer. This is for no better reason than people who use OS X don’t generally go out and buy OS X, they buy a Mac. Apple is promoting the hardware and making money on the hardware.
But! I hear you cry, that’s just what’s happening with PCs too!! But is it?
The biggest difference between sales of OS X and Windows is in volume licensing, subscription packs like the Action Pack and upgrades. People who use a Mac can also upgrade, but the upgrades for Apple simply don’t happen at the same speed or to anywhere near the same extent as they do with Windows. It’s business that’s the main driver for Windows market share, and early adopters in the business market will have helped considerably.
Then there are the enthusiasts such as us lot who have pre-ordered Windows 7 or bought it soon after launch. OS X has early-adopter enthusiasts too but not on anywhere near the same scale.
In summary, this means that inevitably Windows 7 will surpass OS X’s market share overall, but that it will inevitably happen far more quickly than Apple can build market share. It’s all down the Microsoft’s dominant position in the market.
So why did I rant on about all that. Well it seems that some journalists and websites have been using this as an excuse to Apple-bash, and while I might enjoy the occasional bit of ribbing myself, I hardly feel it’s a good way to express what’s really going on.
What IS really going on is that Windows 7 is storming ahead of where Windows Vista was at the same time in its life. This is where the real comparison should be made. This is how Microsoft and the wider world should measure the success of this new operating system, and how we can be sure that we’re all buying into a quality product.
