Microsoft’s Windows, which in 2015 fell to third place among the world’s operating systems, will continue to lose share this year to both Android and Apple’s combined OS X and iOS, Gartner said today.

Not until 2017 will Windows begin to recoup some of the losses it’s sustained since 2013, Gartner said in its latest device forecast.

The continued decline of Windows makes Microsoft’s job of pivoting to explorations of cross-platform opportunities all the more pressing. And it goes a long way to explain Redmond’s drumbeat of new strategies, including this week’s announcement that it will pursue a “conversations as a platform” initiative that aims to put automated assistants, or “bots,” front and center on not just Windows, but also Android and iOS.

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