Microsoft’s prized platform, Windows, has been through much over the past few decades, but the mobile revolution has really turned things upside down for the operating system.
However, according to the US government, an overwhelming majority of people still use Windows to access government websites — followed by rival platforms like iOS, Android, Mac. Interestingly, the Linux operating system does not feature in this list.
These latest statistics are published here.
And while the chart only refers to the operating systems American users use to access government websites in the last 90 days, not the whole Internet, it still makes for an interesting read.
Two takeaways here.
First, Windows Phone does not get its very own classification, and is probably lumped together in the final column with other platforms.
Not surprising considering the very low markets share of the mobile OS in the country, which according to most estimates is barely over the 2.8% mark.
And secondly, the Windows platform (all versions combined) accounts for more than half the total user base here at 58.5%. Goes to show that an increasing number of users are now comfortable conducting their government business on mobile devices, one in three here.
Microsoft hopes to turn the tides here with Windows 10 when the new operating system launches later this year, offering similar and streamlined experiences on both desktop and mobile hardware.