Operating System Market Share 2026: Android, Windows, iOS, macOS and Linux
Android had 42.65% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats. Windows had 28.98% and iOS 19.37%. On desktop, Windows had 76.41% and Linux 4.54%. Other datasets put Linux higher.
Key statistics
- Android had 42.65% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
- Windows had 76.41% of desktop operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
- Windows 11 ran on 71.5% of Windows desktop page views worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
- Linux averaged 4.79% of desktop operating system market share worldwide over the 12 months to September 2026, up from 4.31% a year earlier, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
- Linux's share on US federal websites (6.02%) was 3.5 times its worldwide all-device share in StatCounter data (1.73%) in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal.
Operating system market share worldwide
StatCounter measures the operating system behind each page view on websites that run its tracking code. Phones, tablets, computers and consoles are counted together.
Android is the most used operating system because most people go online on a phone. It had 42.65% of page views in September 2026. Windows was second with 28.98%.
The gap has narrowed. Android fell by 3.68 points in a year while iOS gained 3.8 points. Over the 12 months to September 2026, Android averaged 40.31% and Windows 31.24%.
Single months move a lot in this series, so compare 12-month averages when you can. For the browsers that run on these systems, see our search engine market share statistics.
- Android
- Windows
- iOS
Source: StatCounter Global Stats (CC BY-SA 3.0). Full monthly series from September 2024 in the CSV download.
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Android had 42.65% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Windows had 28.98% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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iOS had 19.37% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Apple macOS had 6.35% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: StatCounter reports "OS X" (4.04%) and "macOS" (2.31%) as separate rows. Both are Apple macOS, so we added them.
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Linux had 1.73% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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ChromeOS had 0.88% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Android averaged 40.31% of worldwide operating system market share over the 12 months to September 2026, against 31.24% for Windows, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: Mean of the 12 monthly shares, October 2025 to September 2026, for Android and for Windows.
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Android's worldwide operating system market share fell by 3.68 percentage points between September 2025 and September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: September 2026 share (42.65%) minus September 2025 share (46.33%).
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iOS's worldwide operating system market share rose by 3.8 percentage points between September 2025 and September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: September 2026 share (19.37%) minus September 2025 share (15.57%).
| Operating system | September 2025 | September 2026 | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 46.33% | 42.65% | -3.68 |
| Windows | 30.28% | 28.98% | -1.30 |
| iOS | 15.57% | 19.37% | +3.80 |
| macOS (OS X + macOS) | 5.52% | 6.35% | +0.83 |
| Linux | 1.43% | 1.73% | +0.30 |
| ChromeOS | 0.69% | 0.88% | +0.19 |
| Xbox | 0.02% | 0.03% | +0.01 |
Desktop operating system market share
On desktop and laptop computers, Windows is still far ahead.
Windows had 76.41% of desktop page views worldwide in September 2026. Apple macOS had 16.74% once StatCounter's separate "OS X" and "macOS" rows are added together.
The monthly numbers were unusually noisy this year. Windows ranged from 63.03% in August 2026 to 80.02% in February 2026. In August 2026, Linux jumped to 8.76% and the "macOS" row to 15.08%. Both fell back in September 2026. StatCounter has not published a reason.
The 12-month average is the safer read. It puts Windows at 75.58% and Linux at 4.79%, up from 4.31% in the previous 12 months.
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Windows had 76.41% of desktop operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Apple macOS had 16.74% of desktop operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: "OS X" (10.65%) plus "macOS" (6.09%), which StatCounter lists separately.
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Linux had 4.54% of desktop operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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ChromeOS had 2.31% of desktop operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Linux averaged 4.79% of desktop operating system market share worldwide over the 12 months to September 2026, up from 4.31% a year earlier, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: Mean of the 12 monthly desktop Linux shares, October 2025 to September 2026 (4.79%), and October 2024 to September 2025 (4.31%).
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Windows' monthly desktop operating system share worldwide ranged from 63.03% to 80.02% in the 12 months to September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: Lowest month (August 2026, 63.03%) and highest month (February 2026, 80.02%) of the 12 monthly shares, October 2025 to September 2026. Value is the gap in points.
| Operating system | September 2025 | September 2026 | 12-month average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | 79.86% | 76.41% | 75.58% |
| macOS (OS X + macOS) | 14.55% | 16.74% | 17.95% |
| Linux | 3.76% | 4.54% | 4.79% |
| ChromeOS | 1.82% | 2.31% | 1.68% |
Windows 11 vs Windows 10 market share
StatCounter also splits Windows desktop page views by version.
Windows 11 ran on 71.5% of Windows desktop page views in September 2026, up 18.6 points in a year. Windows 10 was down to 27.77%.
Windows 11 first passed Windows 10 in July 2025 and has stayed ahead since. The biggest jump came in early 2026, after Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025.
Windows 10 is still large in absolute terms. Multiply the two shares and it accounts for about 21.2% of all desktop page views worldwide.
- Windows 11
- Windows 10
Source: StatCounter Global Stats (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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Windows 11 ran on 71.5% of Windows desktop page views worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Windows 10 ran on 27.77% of Windows desktop page views worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Windows 7 ran on 0.55% of Windows desktop page views worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Windows 11's share of Windows desktop page views worldwide rose by 18.6 percentage points between September 2025 and September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: September 2026 share (71.5%) minus September 2025 share (52.9%).
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Windows 11 first passed Windows 10 in worldwide desktop Windows share in July 2025, with 53.51% against 42.88%, and led every month to September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: First month in the series from September 2024 in which the Windows 11 share was higher than the Windows 10 share.
| Version | September 2025 | September 2026 | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 | 52.9% | 71.5% | +18.60 |
| Windows 10 | 43.78% | 27.77% | -16.01 |
| Windows 7 | 2.29% | 0.55% | -1.74 |
| Windows 8.1 | 0.2% | 0.09% | -0.11 |
| Windows XP | 0.33% | 0.05% | -0.28 |
Linux market share
Linux numbers depend heavily on who is measuring. Three public datasets give three different answers.
StatCounter puts Linux at 1.73% of all page views and 4.54% of desktop page views worldwide in September 2026. Android is built on the Linux kernel, but every source here counts it separately.
The other datasets are higher. Linux made 8.27% of desktop Wikimedia pageviews in the week dated 18 October 2026, up 3.59 points in a year. On US federal websites it had 6.02% of active users. None of the three publishers has explained the 2026 rise. Automated traffic that reports a Linux browser could inflate all of them, so treat recent Linux figures with care.
Country matters too. Linux had 10.52% of desktop page views in India and 6.46% in Germany, against 1.56% in China. In the United States, ChromeOS (5.35%) is bigger than Linux (3.69%) on desktop.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats (CC BY-SA 3.0). Country table below.
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Linux had 10.52% of desktop operating system market share in India in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Linux had 6.46% of desktop operating system market share in Germany in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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India's desktop Linux share was 2.3 times the worldwide figure in September 2026 (10.52% vs 4.54%), calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: India desktop Linux share divided by worldwide desktop Linux share, same month, same source.
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ChromeOS had 5.35% of desktop operating system market share in the United States in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Linux made 8.27% of pageviews to the desktop versions of Wikimedia sites in the week dated 18 October 2026, according to the Wikimedia Foundation.
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Linux's share of desktop Wikimedia pageviews rose by 3.59 percentage points between the weeks dated 19 October 2025 and 18 October 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from Wikimedia Foundation data.
How we calculated it: Week dated 18 October 2026 (8.27%) minus week dated 19 October 2025 (4.68%). Rows labelled "Linux" only; Ubuntu and other named distributions are separate rows.
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Linux accounted for 6.02% of active users on US federal websites in the 90 days to 25 October 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from US General Services Administration data.
How we calculated it: Linux active users (195,380,744) divided by all active users (3,247,100,146) in the DAP 90-day file.
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Linux's share on US federal websites (6.02%) was 3.5 times its worldwide all-device share in StatCounter data (1.73%) in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal.
How we calculated it: DAP Linux share, 90 days to 25 October 2026 (6.02%), divided by StatCounter worldwide all-platform Linux share, September 2026 (1.73%). Different samples and periods.
| Dataset | What it counts | Period | Linux share |
|---|---|---|---|
| StatCounter, all devices, worldwide | Page views on sites running StatCounter | September 2026 | 1.73% |
| StatCounter, desktop, worldwide | Desktop page views on sites running StatCounter | September 2026 | 4.54% |
| Wikimedia, desktop sites | Pageviews to desktop Wikipedia and sister sites | Week dated 18 Oct 2026 | 8.27% |
| US GSA DAP, US federal sites | Active users on participating .gov sites | 90 days to 25 Oct 2026 | 6.02% |
Linux, Windows and macOS share by country
Desktop operating system market share in seven large markets, September 2026.
Windows has more than three in four desktop page views in India, Brazil, China, Japan and Germany. Apple is strongest on desktop in the United States and the United Kingdom, where macOS had 26.44% and 24.57%.
| Country | Linux | ChromeOS | Windows | macOS (OS X + macOS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 10.52% | 0.44% | 82.3% | 6.73% |
| Germany | 6.46% | 0.73% | 76.56% | 16.23% |
| Japan | 5.39% | 0.84% | 78.75% | 15.01% |
| Brazil | 4.13% | 1.2% | 86.75% | 7.92% |
| United States | 3.69% | 5.35% | 64.52% | 26.44% |
| United Kingdom | 3.53% | 2.85% | 69.05% | 24.57% |
| China | 1.56% | 0% | 91.65% | 6.78% |
| Worldwide | 4.54% | 2.31% | 76.41% | 16.74% |
Android vs iOS market share
On phones there are only two real choices. The split varies a lot by country.
Android had 69.31% of mobile page views worldwide in September 2026 and iOS 30.66%. iOS gained 6.18 points in a year.
iOS leads in only two of the seven markets we track: Japan (60.46%) and the United States (53.51%). The United Kingdom is closer, with Android at 53.02%. Android has 93.97% in India.
Tablets are the one device type where iOS and Android are level. iPads had 50.29% of tablet page views worldwide, against 49.64% for Android.
Wikimedia data leans further towards iOS. iOS made 46.72% of mobile Wikimedia pageviews in the week dated 18 October 2026. Readers of Wikipedia are not a random sample of phone users.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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Android had 69.31% of mobile operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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iOS had 30.66% of mobile operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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iOS's mobile operating system share worldwide rose by 6.18 percentage points between September 2025 and September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: September 2026 share (30.66%) minus September 2025 share (24.48%).
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iOS (iPadOS) had 50.29% of tablet operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, against 49.64% for Android, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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iOS had 53.51% of mobile operating system market share in the United States in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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iOS had 60.46% of mobile operating system market share in Japan in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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Android had 93.97% of mobile operating system market share in India in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
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iOS led Android on mobile in 2 of the 7 large markets we track in September 2026, the United States and Japan, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data.
How we calculated it: Compared iOS and Android mobile shares for the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, Japan, Brazil and China, September 2026.
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iOS made 46.72% of pageviews to the mobile versions of Wikimedia sites in the week dated 18 October 2026, against 51.88% for Android, according to the Wikimedia Foundation.
| Market | Android | iOS | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 39.53% | 60.46% | iOS |
| United States | 46.47% | 53.51% | iOS |
| United Kingdom | 53.02% | 46.97% | Android |
| China | 67.83% | 32.09% | Android |
| Germany | 72.3% | 27.7% | Android |
| Brazil | 79.23% | 20.76% | Android |
| India | 93.97% | 5.97% | Android |
| Worldwide | 69.31% | 30.66% | Android |
How the sources measure operating system share
All three datasets count web traffic, not devices sold or installed.
StatCounter counts page views on the more than 1 million websites that run its free tracking code, according to its FAQ. One heavy user counts more than one light user. StatCounter lists "OS X" and "macOS" as separate rows, so we add them. It publishes under a CC BY-SA 3.0 licence.
The Wikimedia Foundation publishes weekly shares of pageviews to Wikipedia and its sister sites, by operating system family. It lists some Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, as their own rows. We quote the row labelled "Linux".
The US General Services Administration's Digital Analytics Program publishes active-user counts for participating federal websites: 3.25 billion in the 90 days to 25 October 2026. We turned the counts into shares. These are US government websites, and their traffic leans towards computers: Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS together had 68.99% of active users. So Windows is higher (48.97%) and Android much lower (9.63%) than in the global data.
No source here counts installed devices. A share of page views tells you how much each system is used to browse the web, which is close to, but not the same as, how many devices run it.
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US federal websites in the Digital Analytics Program recorded 3.25 billion active users in the 90 days to 25 October 2026, according to the US General Services Administration.
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Windows accounted for 48.97% of active users on US federal websites in the 90 days to 25 October 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from US General Services Administration data.
How we calculated it: Windows active users (1,590,019,629) divided by all active users (3,247,100,146) in the DAP 90-day file.
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iOS accounted for 21.37% of active users on US federal websites in the 90 days to 25 October 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from US General Services Administration data.
How we calculated it: iOS active users (693,990,555) divided by all active users (3,247,100,146) in the DAP 90-day file.
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Android accounted for 9.63% of active users on US federal websites in the 90 days to 25 October 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from US General Services Administration data.
How we calculated it: Android active users (312,704,208) divided by all active users (3,247,100,146) in the DAP 90-day file.
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Android devices made 31.13% of pageviews to Wikimedia sites such as Wikipedia in the week dated 18 October 2026, according to the Wikimedia Foundation.
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iOS devices made 28.1% of pageviews to Wikimedia sites such as Wikipedia in the week dated 18 October 2026, according to the Wikimedia Foundation.
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Windows devices made 21.22% of pageviews to Wikimedia sites such as Wikipedia in the week dated 18 October 2026, according to the Wikimedia Foundation.
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iOS's share of Wikimedia pageviews (28.1%) was 8.73 points higher than its worldwide StatCounter share (19.37%) in 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal.
How we calculated it: Wikimedia all-sites iOS share, the week dated 18 October 2026 (28.1%), minus StatCounter worldwide iOS share, September 2026 (19.37%).
| Operating system | StatCounter, worldwide, September 2026 | Wikimedia, all sites, week dated 18 Oct 2026 | US federal sites (DAP), 90 days to 25 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 42.65% | 31.13% | 9.63% |
| Windows | 28.98% | 21.22% | 48.97% |
| iOS | 19.37% | 28.1% | 21.37% |
| macOS | 6.35% | 13.35% | 12.9% |
| Linux | 1.73% | 3.39% | 6.02% |
| ChromeOS | 0.88% | 0.78% | 1.11% |
Frequently asked questions
What is the most used operating system in the world?
Android. It had 42.65% of worldwide operating system market share across all devices in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats. Windows was second with 28.98%.
What is the market share of Linux?
Linux had 4.54% of desktop operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats. Other datasets are higher: 8.27% of desktop Wikimedia pageviews and 6.02% of active users on US federal websites.
How many people still use Windows 10?
Windows 10 ran on 27.77% of Windows desktop page views worldwide in September 2026, according to StatCounter Global Stats, down from 43.78% a year earlier.
Is Android or iOS more popular in the United States?
iOS. It had 53.51% of mobile operating system market share in the United States in September 2026, against 46.47% for Android, according to StatCounter Global Stats.
Is Android losing market share?
Yes, slowly. Android's worldwide share across all devices fell by 3.68 percentage points between September 2025 and September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data. iOS gained 3.8 points.
What is the desktop market share of macOS?
Apple macOS had 16.74% of desktop operating system market share worldwide in September 2026, calculated by StatisticsGlobal from StatCounter Global Stats data, which lists "OS X" and "macOS" separately.
Sources
- StatCounter Global Stats, Operating System Market Share Worldwide, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Desktop Operating System Market Share Worldwide, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Desktop Windows Version Market Share Worldwide, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- US General Services Administration (Digital Analytics Program), analytics.usa.gov operating systems, last 90 days (os-90-days.json), live file taken 26 October 2026 (90 days to 25 October 2026). Link · Saved data copy
- StatCounter Global Stats, Desktop Operating System Market Share India, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Desktop Operating System Market Share Germany, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Desktop Operating System Market Share United States, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wikimedia Foundation, Browser reports: desktop site by OS family, percent of pageviews, weekly series to the week dated 18 October 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- StatCounter Global Stats, Mobile Operating System Market Share Worldwide, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Tablet Operating System Market Share Worldwide, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Mobile Operating System Market Share United States, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Mobile Operating System Market Share Japan, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- StatCounter Global Stats, Mobile Operating System Market Share India, monthly series to September 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wikimedia Foundation, Browser reports: mobile site by OS family, percent of pageviews, weekly series to the week dated 18 October 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
- Wikimedia Foundation, Browser reports: all sites by OS family, percent of pageviews, weekly series to the week dated 18 October 2026, accessed 26 October 2026. Link · Saved data copy
Changes to this page
- : Page published with StatCounter data to September 2026, Wikimedia data to the week dated 18 October 2026 and US DAP data to 25 October 2026.