Windows 8 finally achieves double-digit market share

Dying Windows XP's share reaches new low

Microsoft's divisive operating system Windows 8 grabbed more than ten per cent market share for the first time last month, according to new data, which also shows that XP's grip on the market is finally loosening.

According to Net Applications, which tracks the market share of operating systems across desktop computers globally, in December, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 captured 10.49 per cent of the market after taking a 6.89 per cent and 3.6 per cent share respectively.

When Windows 8 first launched in autumn 2012, it failed to win over consumers and businesses immediately and the latest iteration - Windows 8.1 - was released to resolve some of the issues expressed by its detractors - namely the lack of Start button and radically different design.

In January 2013 - before Windows 8.1 hit the market - Windows 8 had only 2.26 per cent of the market.

Last year's Windows 8 adoption campaign ran alongside Microsoft's efforts to encourage users to do the exact opposite with its XP OS. In April this year, support for the ancient OS will come to an end so last year Microsoft led a scaremongering symphony across the industry designed to highlight the security and performance problems users could face if they failed to upgrade before the deadline.

And it seems Microsoft's efforts paid off in December, with XP's share of the market plummeting below 30 per cent for the first time. Despite being launched more than ten years ago, XP still remains the second most popular operating system after Windows 7, according to the figures.

In January last year, it had a whopping 39.51 per cent market share, a number which plunged to just 28.98 per cent last month.