Support us on Patreon
PayPalDo my eyes deceive me? Apparently not. According to Statcounter, the Linux share on the desktop has actually now passed 3% for the first time.
While it has been close a couple of times, the trend according to their stats is pretty clear that Linux use has been slowly rising over the last few years. This does not include ChromeOS, even though it's based on Linux, as they track that separately so this is just plain desktop Linux.
As always, keep a big pinch of salt ready though for any such survey. Statcounter gather this data from around "1.5 million sites globally". Still, just like the Steam Survey that we regularly look at for trends, it's an interesting measure to keep an eye on for the overall picture.
Across this year their stats show for Linux:
- January - 2.91%
- February - 2.94%
- March - 2.85%
- April - 2.83%
- May - 2.7%
- June - 3.07%
See the stats on Statcounter.
What are your thoughts? Be sure to leave a note in the comments!
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
What is "unknown", Linux?
Last edited by Bloombery on 11 July 2023 at 10:21 am UTC
Last edited by Bloombery on 11 July 2023 at 10:21 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
What is "unknown", Linux?Given that a large jump in "unknown"s apparently happened at the same time as a large dip in "Windows" (April), my guess is that Microsoft changed something privacy-wise in Edge which made Statcounter not be able to identify them as Windows.
Then, that the subsequent drop in "unknown"s in June resulted in a fairly proportional increase in all the platforms, suggests to me that Statcounter (likely driven by the increase in "unknown"s in their data) found a way to identify (or guess/assume) a browser's platform in spite of some common cross-platform privacy feature.
Edit: This effect seems especially stark in India! https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/india
(also, 13.8% Desktop Linux in India!)
Last edited by Romlok on 11 July 2023 at 10:48 am UTC
7 Likes, Who?
What is "unknown", Linux?Unidentified Windows version; it mirrors the identified Windows version exactly. They're really one signal.
0 Likes
Apparently the "birds" have flown around the globe and spread the word of free OS. I think Valve is somehow behind this increase as Linux gaming has been going up for sometime. It cannot be coincidence.I can say only this:fly Tux fly!The 4% is next!!!
3 Likes, Who?
8 Likes, Who?
Wow, how far we've come since the old days of insights like these, when that share was so much lower - very nice to see!
Penglings, surely?
7 Likes, Who?
StoneColdSpider Jul 11, 2023
Wow, how far we've come since the old days of insights like these, when that share was so much lower - very nice to see!Only if they have Bombs.......
Penglings, surely?
5 Likes, Who?
According to statcounter we're over 7% because they've separated out the most popular desktop distribution. Considering their past behavior of lumping Windows vs splitting Linux, I wonder how long it will be before they find another distribution or type of distribution to separate out.
2 Likes, Who?
What is "unknown", Linux?Given that a large jump in "unknown"s apparently happened at the same time as a large dip in "Windows" (April), my guess is that Microsoft changed something privacy-wise in Edge which made Statcounter not be able to identify them as Windows.
Then, that the subsequent drop in "unknown"s in June resulted in a fairly proportional increase in all the platforms, suggests to me that Statcounter (likely driven by the increase in "unknown"s in their data) found a way to identify (or guess/assume) a browser's platform in spite of some common cross-platform privacy feature.
Edit: This effect seems especially stark in India! https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/india
(also, 13.8% Desktop Linux in India!)
wow linux marketshare in india is impressive! at the same time it make me depressing to think that a few other countries must have an minuscule marketshare to compensate (after all the average world wide is 3%, if one countrie its much higher than 3 other might be lower)
1 Likes, Who?
I don't know (and trust), what these web counters are really showing.
Not because they are rigged, but because the browsers themselves are rigged.
What does my Ubuntu pre-installed Firefox report?
Not because they are rigged, but because the browsers themselves are rigged.
What does my Ubuntu pre-installed Firefox report?
4 Likes, Who?
I don't know (and trust), what these web counters are really showing.Curious. On Xubuntu, it reports itself as Ubuntu, as expected. I've never meddled with it.
Not because they are rigged, but because the browsers themselves are rigged.
What does my Ubuntu pre-installed Firefox report?
That said, that minutiae from my end of things doesn't invalidate your point at all.
You're absolutely right, and there are plenty of folks who do this deliberately in order to make wonky web-apps work properly, too.
2 Likes, Who?
iWeaker4You Jul 11, 2023
Again ? It had already reached 3% several months ago.
0 Likes
Again ? It had already reached 3% several months ago.Not according to this stat. I searched through years of their stats and this was the first time I saw.
1 Likes, Who?
I think people found out and heard that they can play most if not all of their games if they install Linux instead of Windows. They gave it a try and some decided to stay.
3 Likes, Who?
Interestingly, it seems the upward change solely comes from Ukraine:
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/ukraine
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/ukraine
0 Likes
I note ChromeOS is at 4%. If only it ran, you know, programs.
0 Likes
Interestingly, it seems the upward change solely comes from Ukraine:
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/ukraine
Hmm estonia also
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/estonia
but ofc estonia has tiny population compared.
0 Likes
Ahh well, if browsers started going for /etc/*-release files people would be screaming bloody murder. So "Linux" it is. Some benchmark sites I go to for testing builds for performance regressions report my OS as "Linux Null" or "Linux Unknown" because it doesn't have any other info.
Last edited by Grogan on 11 July 2023 at 6:00 pm UTC
Last edited by Grogan on 11 July 2023 at 6:00 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
See more from me