Asymco reports Apple sells 1 device for every 2 Windows devices (counting iPhone and iPad sales) in 2012-- meaning Windows might lose the platform war in the very near future.
Can we expect a Microsoft-Apple "parity" within the next 1-2 years? The analyst believes so.
If one takes only counts OS X devices (Mac PCs) versus Windows devices, the Windows:Apple ratio still amounts to 19:1-- a far difference than 56:1 back in 2004.
"Although PC volumes continued to grow, they did so more slowly and the Mac grew faster," Asymco remarks. "What coincided with this was the emergence of portable computing." As we all know, post-PC devices of the "i" variety brought tremendous changes of fortune to the once not-so-might Apple.
What will happen once the Apple-Microsoft parity comes about? The analyst predicts "dire" consequences for Microsoft, bringing back what used to be an old memory for the company-- direct competition, not only for customers, but also for developer talent and enterprise investment.
Asymco concludes "realising that Windows is not a hegemony will unleash market forces that nobody can predict."