The Current Market Situation of Linux Desktop Operating Systems: An Analysis of the Chinese and Global Landscape

The Current Market Situation of Linux Desktop Operating Systems: An Analysis of the Chinese and Global Landscape

In the vast field of operating systems, Linux, with its open-source and flexible characteristics, holds a unique position globally. According to data from the industry network traffic analysis website StatCounter, as of February 2024, the market share of Linux in China's desktop operating systems is only 0.9%. Compared with the dominant positions of Windows and macOS, this figure appears rather minuscule.

From a global perspective, the desktop market share of Linux also faces challenges. In the global desktop operating system market, Windows has long occupied a dominant position with a share of over 80%. Its extensive software compatibility and user-friendly interface make it the preferred choice for personal computer users. macOS, with its deep integration with Apple's hardware, unique design aesthetics, and powerful multimedia processing capabilities, has a stable user base in the high-end personal computer market and among creative professionals, with a global market share of approximately 10% to 20%. In contrast, the global desktop market share of Linux usually hovers around 2% to 3%. This is mainly due to its relatively complex installation and usage processes, as well as an insufficiently rich software ecosystem, resulting in low acceptance among ordinary users.

However, when we focus on the field of domestic operating systems, the development trend of Linux presents a different picture. Domestic operating systems such as Kylin and UOS are mostly deeply customized and developed based on the Linux architecture. In recent years, these domestic systems have achieved remarkable results in ecological construction. The Kylin operating system ranks first in the ecological maturity of commercial desktop and server versions and has served more than 70,000 Chinese users. It is not only widely used in key industries such as government, finance, and energy but also continuously expanding into the personal user market. By optimizing the user experience and enriching application resources, it is gradually increasing user recognition. UOS has also achieved remarkable success. With its complete ecological adaptation system, it has achieved exponential growth in terms of the number of software and hardware ecological adaptations, the number of installations, and the growth rate of native applications. It closely cooperates with many domestic software and hardware manufacturers to build an application ecosystem covering multiple fields such as office software, graphic design, and entertainment, providing users with a more comprehensive and convenient user experience.

With the continuous development and popularization of domestic operating systems, coupled with strong policy support from the state for the research and development of basic software such as operating systems, the market share of Linux in China's desktop segment has the potential to gradually increase. At the policy level, the state encourages key industries and fields to use domestic operating systems to ensure information security and promote the independent and controllable development of the industry. This provides broad application scenarios and development opportunities for domestic operating systems based on Linux. More and more enterprises and institutions are beginning to try to switch their office systems to domestic Linux operating systems. This not only helps to increase the market share of the operating system but also promotes the continuous optimization and improvement of domestic operating systems in practice.

Despite the optimistic outlook, it must be admitted that in the short term, the growth of Linux's market share in China's desktop market still faces many challenges. Windows and macOS have accumulated a deep user base and an extremely rich software resource pool over the years. Many users are accustomed to the operation mode of the Windows system and a large number of specialized software. Changing the operating system means having to learn and adapt to a new operating environment, and at the same time, they also have to face software compatibility issues. For macOS users, the integrity and closed nature of the Apple ecosystem make it difficult for them to switch to other operating systems easily. Therefore, in the coming period, Linux may still be in a catch-up position in China's desktop market. However, its development momentum cannot be underestimated. With the continuous progress of technology and the increasing improvement of the ecosystem, Linux is expected to occupy a more important position in the desktop operating system market.