In January 2014 Windows 8 and 8.1 barely gained market share

The desktop is Windows terrain. The image above is a good example of this. According to the data collected by NetApplications, 9 out of 10 computers work with one of the versions of the Microsoft operating system. There's nothing new on the front and it looks like there won't be any in the near future, but the focus has to be on Windows 8's market share

The two versions of the system, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, have barely gained ground in the first month of the year. In January 2014, the initial system and its update considered together only reached a 10.58% share, a figure that is similar to that of December 2013 when represented 10.49%.Taken separately, Windows 8 continues to make way for its update. The first version of the system has yielded 0.26 points to 6.63%, while Windows 8.1 gradually replaces it and stands at 3.90%.

The decline of Windows 8 and its replacement by Windows 8.1 shouldn't surprise anyone. It's the fact that they don't earn share together that should be a concern in Redmond. Even more so when in this month of January new equipment purchased by consumers should have been incorporated into the market during the Christmas period. Where are those numbers?

The opponent is at home

It has already been said on more than one occasion that Windows 8's main rivals are the previous versions of the operating system The following graph It only reinforces that appreciation. In it you can see the distribution of Windows quota between the different versions of the system during the last 12 months.

Windows has only lost one point in the past year and remains slightly above 90%. The variations are internal, between its different versions. The problem is that these are less pronounced than you probably want in Redmond. Windows 8 and 8.1 barely scratch a bit of share while Windows 7 and Windows XP keep the type The old XP has even managed to gain some share despite of ongoing news about the end of your support.

It is not easy to explain these figures. In theory, and no matter how hard HP tries, most PCs currently being sold to consumers come with Windows 8.1. The business market is another story, Windows 8 seems to have a hard time breaking into it and Windows 7 could hold its own thanks to equipment bought by companies. The Windows XP thing makes less sense and may be related to the margin of error or some correction in the figures.

Is Windows 8 the new Vista?

The key question is the rate of penetration of Windows 8 in the market Last year we tried to track it by comparing it to Windows 7 at the time of its release and we already appreciated how the pace of the latest version of the system was lower. We now recover that comparison with more data and a new graph. In it we place the market share of Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 based on the months elapsed since the launch of each of them.

There is a fact to take into account before drawing conclusions and it is the fact that Windows Vista came out at the end of January and the releases of Windows 7 and 8 were released at the end of October That said, I don't know if you see what I see, but the resemblance between the lines of Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Vista seems self-evident. The growth rate of the two systems in their first 15 months is similar and very different to the meteoric rise of Windows 7. There are even moments when both lines are very close to overlapping.

The circumstances are very different between the different periods: 2007, the year Windows Vista came out; 2009, release of Windows 7; and 2012, arrival of Windows 8. It is difficult to compare with such different contexts, but taking into account that the rivals of each new Windows are its previous versions and it is from these that it must steal quota, the The similarity between Windows Vista and Windows 8 is curious to say the least

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The chant that Windows 8 is the new Vista has been heard practically since its release. It is probable that this is not true in the characteristics of the system, it is not for nothing that Windows 8 is much more optimized and does not suffer from the problems that Vista was accused of at the time.But the comparison makes sense if we look at the market share of both systems Redmond may have already seen it and that explains why there may be those who internally refer to Windows 8 like new Vista>"

Via | NetMarketShare In Xataka Windows | Reviewing Windows 8.1 Update 1 leaks and what their changes mean