Look out, Windows: Android is catching up

Android is poised to overtake Windows as the world's most-used operating system.

That's the word from web analytics service StatCounter, which monitors worldwide web traffic with an eye towards device operating systems. The firm found that 37.4 percent of devices online were Android -- just a hair behind Windows at 38.6 percent.

Perhaps the bigger concern for Microsoft are the trend lines, however: Windows is on a steady march down from 82 percent in 2012, while Android is mirroring it upward from 2.2 percent in the same five-year period.

The numbers are no surprise given the major trends over the same half decade: the PC market has been in a funk while mobile phones -- most of them Android -- have been selling like hotcakes (although growth is now leveling off). As users move from laptops and desktop PCs to phones as their primary devices, the trend towards mobile only accelerates.

Apple, meanwhile, is still bringing up the rear in the mobile and computer space in terms of market share. But don't feel bad for Cupertino: Apple still seems to be the company that's making nearly all of the actual profits, at least when it comes to phones.