10 most popular computer operating systems as 2021 comes to a close

Created: 2021.12.20

10 most popular computer operating systems as 2021 comes to a close

10 most popular computer operating systems as 2021 comes to a close##

The order may not be quite correct, and depending on how you count and what your biases are, your list may be different/in a different order, but it is close as a 'practical' list.

So without further ado, as 2021 comes to a close, I believe the following is the list of most popular computer operating systems:

  1. Windows
  2. Android (A Linux fork)
  3. iOS
  4. iPadOS (An IOS fork)
  5. Raspberry Pi (A Linux fork)
  6. Mac (A Linux Fork)
  7. Linux (Arguably this should be broken down, and to be fair, they are all 'forks' but here I'm talking about ones that are still recognizable as a form of Linux)
  8. BSD and other Unix
  9. Arduino
  10. Chrome OS

Ones off the list that I've used in the past

  • Several failed Windows attempts including Windows mobile
  • UNIX
  • Honeywell Multics

Now, my list above may be biased to a 'desktop' or "not server" perspective. When it comes to Linux', one site reports the top 10 Linux's at the end of 2021 as: Linux Mint. Based on Ubuntu, it claims to be 'elegant'. During installation you can choose to be set up the way you want.

  • Linux Mint. Based on Ubuntu, it claims to be 'elegant'. During installation you can choose to be set up the way you want.
  • Ubuntu. Very popular for new users. If you included all the versions based on it, it will be #1.
  • MX Linux. I know almost nothing about it, surprising since it ranks in the top 10, indeed, in one list I saw it ranks as #1 in popularity. Debian based.
  • Manjaro. I know almost nothing about it, which I find surprising since apparently it is in the "top 10", in different rankings it appears as high as position #2. Apparently comes with good stuff for music and video out of the box.
  • Debian, Ubuntu and RedHat Enterprise Unix are based on it. It is seen as mostly a server based option
  • Elementary OS, and Ubuntu based, they claim "a fast and open replacement for Windows and OS X"
  • Solus, GNOME stack, designed to easily get you up and running for home and office computing.
  • Zorin OS, designed to help Windows and Mac users switch to Linux
  • Fedora (Red Hat-ish) Desktop, Server and Cloud versions, typically on the leading edge of new packages and tech. Red Hat Enterprise and CentOS are based on Fedora.
  • Deepin, Desktop oriented, aims to give beautiful, easy to use, safe and reliable OS to global users

Again, people argue how to decide, where to slice and dice. But I think the above is good enough for making decisions. After all … you shouldn't choose something JUST because it is the most popular. If the most popular vehicle is a Ford F150 and you need a 12 passenger van, the fact that the Ford F150 is the most popular is irrelevant! If you want a vehicle that can be maintained in Panama, you don't care that the most popular car in the world is from SAIC Motors because there are so many people in China and it is the most popular there and well, 'world' popularity has to win based on the most people not based on 'most popular everywhere except China (the Toyota Corolla if you care) … Similarly, the most popular Linux or the most popular OS isn't what matters to you if you want a cell phone with 'one of the two most popular cell phone OSs) but might matter if you decided in your life everything must be Linux and therefore you want an OS that is a Linux fork. (iOS is a BSD fork, Android is a Linux fork if you care.)

I think if you are choosing a Linux, you should consider all of the top 10 before making a decision, see which make sense for your needs. For example, if your goal is a headless server, several on the list drop off your list of considerations.

And, there are 100's, perhaps 1000's of other Linux distros that MIGHT be worth considering if you have something special in mind, for example Wycliffe Bible translators and SIL have (or had last time I checked) a distro designed specifically for people working in multi-languages and in particular languages that were having their written form created - a great one to consider if you are into Linguistics, regardless of whether you are interested in Bible Translation or completely unrelated. But if you are just running a "full stack server", or "just want a desktop computer" - then you probably want one of those.

And now, if you count all the Linux forks such as Android, Raspberry Pi, I think it would be clear that as a whole Linux is more popular. But Linux is more 'fragmented' and incompatible. Similarly, UNIX would rank higher if you counted Mac, iOS and others in the UNIX category (and it would be fair to for every version of Mac except possibly, arguably, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion)

You could also argue based on "Windows 11 isn't 10 isn't 8 isn't 7, isn't Metro, isn't XP, Isn't 3.11" but my point is to be PRACTICAL not get it technically accurate in a way that ignores the practicality.

So yes, I made decisions where to slice and dice. If you want to fold them all up, I guess my top 10 would become the top 4:

  1. Windows
  2. Linux
  3. UNIX
  4. Arduino

Noting that while Linux was inspired by UNIX, it wasn't based on UNIX other than from perspectives such as API.