Surface controls 82% of the Windows RT market, giving Microsoft effective monopoly over the platform

Sales of the Surface RT device aren’t changing the landscape of the tablet market, but Microsoft can rest content in at least one metric: out of all devices running Windows RT, it runs the game.

AdDuplex collects data across 112 Windows Store applications that employ its SDK. This gives the company a somewhat broad look at the market of Windows 8 and RT devices; naturally, we always want a larger sample, but regardless, the data that AdDuplex has collected provides us with one of the best looks into the world of Windows 8.

Here’s the breakdown of Windows RT device market share, as provided:

However, we need to zoom out. What is the breakdown of Windows RT devices, compared to the larger Windows 8 market?

Well then. Microsoft may be king of the RT market, but that’s a slice of the larger Windows 8 world; here’s a chart showing off just how the Surface fits into the larger picture:

This data is not gospel, and is useful only in as much as it helps us make broad comparisons; using it with too much granularity would be a mistake. Still, it is obvious that Windows RT is a platform that Microsoft all but controls. That may not sound surprising, but given Microsoft’s history of having no presence as an OEM, it’s a key change.

While Microsoft can be proud that it has taken top place on one of its key platforms, it isn’t particularly good that competing devices aren’t selling strongly; Microsoft is depriving tenured partners of certain sales. This had led to some rather embarrassing defections, including one by Samsung in which it decided to not release a Windows RT tablet in the United States.

Headline image via TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images