User profile by operating system ecosystem

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 13, 2021

Apple for youngest adults and Windows for the middle

  • Windows has the broadest overall market penetration of any OS family
    • Globally, Windows is strongest among adults who are employed, in larger households, working from home, and neither the oldest nor youngest
  • Apple OS devices have their strongest market penetration among younger adults, especially those employed and working from home
    • Apple’s global market penetration is supported in three ways: iPhones, Macs, and iPads
    • The global penetration of Google OS devices is primarily supported by Android smartphones.
This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Technology ecosystem device penetration by country, age, and employment status

One measure of an ecosystem’s breadth is its market penetration. This MetaFAQs splits out the percentage of online adults using major OS families and form factors – such as Windows PCs and iPhones – by country and by age and employment status.

This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Windows leads what Apple and Google divide [MetaFAQs]

Windows, Apple, and Google (Android, Chromebook) are each stronger or weaker by form factor and country. This MetaFAQs reports on the share of each OS ecosystem by country and within the US, by age group.

This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Key ecosystems penetration [MetaFAQs]

The market penetration of Windows OS, Apple OS, and Google OS devices varies considerably by country. This MetaFAQs reports on each OS ecosystem’s active market penetration and splits out American users by age group.

This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Communication distinctive for remote workers [TUPdate]

Working from home requires more communication than ever, both a broad range of devices (smartphones, computers, tablets), and types (calls, messages, meetings with and without video). Employees working from home use computers for different communication activities than they do with smartphones. This TUPdate compares a detailed list of communication activities among those working from home and those not working from home, and also identifies which devices – PCs, smartphones, or others – are used the most for communication by work from home status.

This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

For most, PCs are first for connecting

Worldwide, smartphones have grown to be the primary device used the most by nearly half of online adults. Among American adults, PC usage continues to lead, although the gap has narrowed.

This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Penetration of key devices among remote workers [TUPdate]

Many employees working from home need connected devices to work or to communicate. This TUPdate reports on the collection of actively used connected devices, comparing what is being used by employees working from home, employees not working from home, and adults not employed outside the home. These are split by form factor as well as operating system family.

This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.

Work from home experience & plans [TUPdate]

Employees who have had prior experience working from home have different and more intense technology purchase plans than those who are new to working from home or that have never worked from home. This TUPdate identifies purchase plans for a selection of home office products among employees comparing their previous experience working from home.

This content is for subscribers only.
Login Join Now
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used with a generative AI system without separate licensing and express written permission. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.