Microsoft’s Windows has fallen below 60% of global desktop operating system usage for the first time in years, according to StatCounter’s June 2026 data. The latest figures show Windows accounting for 56.55% of worldwide desktop OS usage, while Linux climbed to 4.39%, marking one of its strongest recent performances in StatCounter’s desktop market share statistics.
Despite Linux’s growth, Apple’s desktop operating systems continue to hold a significantly larger share of the market. StatCounter reports OS X at 11.89% and macOS at 4.48%, giving Apple a combined desktop market share of more than 16%. Chrome OS follows with 1.21% of global desktop usage.
StatCounter notes that its figures should not be interpreted as the number of computers running each operating system. Instead, the company’s Global Stats are based on web traffic collected from websites that use its analytics platform.
The service analyzes page views and technical information such as operating systems, browsers, and screen resolutions to estimate market share. As a result, the statistics reflect measured web activity rather than the total number of installed desktop operating systems worldwide.
The latest figures represent a notable shift in the desktop operating system landscape. While Windows remains the dominant desktop platform by a wide margin, its share has dropped below the 60% threshold, while Linux continues to post gradual gains in global desktop usage. Analysts caution, however, that StatCounter’s methodology measures internet usage patterns rather than actual device installations, making the data better suited for tracking usage trends than installed market share.
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