Linux has surpassed 5% desktop market share in the US (5.03% in June 2025), per StatCounter, driven by privacy concerns, rising costs of Windows/macOS, and user-friendly distros like Ubuntu. Community celebrates amid gaming and enterprise boosts, though challenges like software gaps persist; analysts eye 7% by 2027.
I’m sure that this is because of a confluence of events, but I would presume as well that it has a lot to do with declining material conditions within the US as well. The way of buying a new computer/laptop/phone every couple years is becoming increasingly unfeasible, & Linux doesn’t enforce planned obsolescence & doesn’t force new features onto users. Especially over the past 15 years, it’s been a stalwart of stability compared with Mac/Windows & their deteriorating reputations.
Operating systems are, at the end of the day, public infrastructure & should absolutely be treated as such. I feel that open source is one way to implement that, & Linux, along with its wealth of distros, is doing a good job of it.