Microsoft’s Windows has always dominated the desktop OS space globally, as the operating system is widely available with many PC manufacturing partners such as Dell, HP and Lenovo. However, a recent trend shows that Microsoft's Windows has steadily  been losing ground in the US, due to the rise of macOS and to a lessor degree, ChromeOS.

The data derived from Statcounter by GlobalStats shows that Windows has dropped to a historic low of 57.37% market share in the U.S. desktop OS market, a far cry from its all-time high of 92.37% back in January 2009. And the trend line does not show signs of slowing down, as Windows is expected to lose more market share in the country throughout 2023.

The rapid drop in market share can be attributed to stiff competition from its competitors, which are macOS from Apple and Chrome OS from Google. As of February 2023, Windows holds 57.37% of the desktop OS market in the US, macOS holds 29.62% and Chrome OS holds 7.47%. Linux holds 2.55%, whereas other miscellaneous desktop operating systems hold 2.97%.

(Click on Chart to Greatly Enlarge)

The rising popularity of macOS and ChromeOS is definitely one cause of Windows’ current downtrend. Apple's macOS, supported by all Mac hardware, has been gaining ground since Apple introduced their next-gen Apple Silicon and its vastly  improved performance and staggering battery life on their MacBooks.

Clearly Microsoft’s monopoly on the desktop market with Windows has been steadily losing its momentum as competition heats up. A recent leak indicates that Microsoft is aggressively developing Windows 12 that began with the addition of AI with GPT-4 underpinnings for Bing and Edge browser. For more on this, read the full report by Gizmochina.

While the rise of macOS presented in the GlobalStats chart is impressive, it doesn't really capture Apple's true operating system status. Microsoft uses Windows on PCs along with tablets and 2-in-1 devices. Apple, on the other hand, continues to keep macOS to desktops and MacBooks while using iPadOS for  their tablet line-up. iPad basically owns the tablet market. In Q4 2022, Apple took 49.2%  market share.

If Apple were to ever run both macOS and iPad on tablets, the market share stats for Microsoft Windows market share at 57.37% would drop like a rock, bringing macOS much closer to a statistical tie. In that light, Microsoft's loss of OS market share since 2009 has actually been much larger than the GlobalStats chart presents.

In the bigger picture, Microsoft PCs, tablets and smartphone all run under the single Windows banner. If Apple were to approach the market in the same way by folding macOS, iOS, iPadOS and watchOS under one banner, Microsoft would be seen as the company that Apple crushed many years ago.