Windows 8 take-up accelerating, surpasses Vista as Microsoft's third most popular OS
Enjoying biggest gains since launch
Despite a cool reaction from the press, Windows 8 continues to expand its userbase, with numbers published by Net Market Share suggesting the OS enjoyed its biggest gains since launch in the month of June.
The firm's statistics peg Windows 8 on a 5.1 percent share of the OS market, nudging it ahead of the much-maligned Windows Vista on 4.6 percent.
This makes Windows 8 the third most popular version of Windows currently in use, behind Windows 7 and Windows XP.
OS warsWindows 8 gained 0.83 percentage points in June, putting it comfortably ahead of the two most recent versions of OS X.
In all, Apple's OS X currently accounts for almost 7.2 percent of the market, meaning Windows 8 will likely surpass the platform within the next couple of months.
The good news for Microsoft comes just after the firm released a public preview of Windows 8.1 – the first major update for the platform since launch, sporting a redesigned app store designed to aid game discovery.
The new Windows Store scrolls through promoted apps
The last official statistics released by Microsoft back in May suggested Windows 8 was currently moving 10 million copies a month, with its total having topped 100 million.
Windows 8.1 is expected to launch in full this autumn.
[source: Net Market Share]
