Linux Usage Is on the Rise

May 11, 2020

According to NetMarketShare, Linux saw a significant bump in usage during April.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had some severe effects on the economy and consumer spending habits. Businesses have shuddered, unsure if they’d survive the months-long closure. And although it’s hard to find a silver lining in all the market data, one positive outcome is that the Linux operating system has witnessed a large surge in usage.

Before you get too excited, it’s not as though Linux all of a sudden surged past either Windows or macOS. In fact, Linux desktop usage is still in the single digits. However, in comparison, Linux actually bested both Windows and macOS for growth in April.

The numbers paint an interesting picture, one that points directly to Ubuntu. During the month of April, Ubuntu gained 1.61% (from 0.27% to 1.88%) of the market-share, while Linux as a whole gained 1.51% (from 1.36% to 2.87%). This happens to coincide with the release of Ubuntu 20.04, which has been met with rave reviews across the board.

And while Linux rose nearly 2%, Microsoft Windows dropped 2%, from 89-87%. At the same time, macOS rose 1%.

Although this does not mean Linux has taken over the market and will soon see it’s dream of World Domination finally come to fruition, any increase in market share for the open source desktop is a win.

Information gleaned from: https://netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx

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