Android may soon beat Windows as the world's most popular OS

Windows, once the undisputed king of operating systems, is facing a new contender for the throne.

StatCounter, a web analytics company, found that Android came very close to matching Windows' market share last month. Google's mobile OS was used by 37.4 percent of people connecting to the internet in February 2017 versus 38.6 percent who used Windows. Apple's iOS came in third with 12.99 percent.

StatCounter measures OS market share in terms of internet usage, not device shipments.

"The idea of Android almost matching Windows would have been unthinkable five years ago," Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter's CEO, said in a blog post. Android's huge success in developing countries and the continued growth of the mobile and tablet market are huge contributing factors to its market share.

Android has already taken over Windows' market share in developing regions. Android has 51.8 percent, whereas Windows is at 29.8 percent.

In North America, Windows maintains a lead with 40.7 percent, while iOS is second with 24.9 percent. Android rounds out third with 20.3 percent.

That said, Windows continues to be the top desktop operating system by a huge margin with 84.1 percent market share. But internet usage has been shifting toward mobile for years, and StatCounter reported that in October 2016, internet usage by mobile and tablet devices exceeded desktop and laptop worldwide for the first time.