The latest numbers from Strategy Analytics reveal that iOS and Android combined to capture 96% global market share in the third quarter. iOS and Android accounted for 12.3% market share and 83.6% global market share respectively for the three-month period ending September. Those figures arrive just one day after the research firm reported that Chinese company Xiaomi has become the third-largest smartphone maker in the world.
Android continued to be a dominant player in global smartphone operating system market share, increasing its lead over iOS by three percentage points compared to the year-ago quarter. Apple’s mobile operating system held 12.3% market share during the third quarter, trailed by Windows Phone (3.3%) and BlackBerry (0.7%). Other mobile platforms accounted for less than 0.1% market share.
“Android’s leadership of the global smartphone market looks unbeatable at the moment,” said Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics. “Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide. However, challenges are emerging for Google. The Android platform is getting overcrowded with hundreds of hardware brands, Android smartphone prices are falling worldwide, and few Android device vendors make profits.”
Overall, global smartphone shipments grew 27 percent annually to 320.4 million units in the third quarter versus 252.9 million units in the year-ago quarter. The growth in the smartphone market continues to come mainly from emerging markets such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In particular, smartphone makers like Google and Xiaomi have been aggressively pushing entry-level devices in countries like China and India, which boast the first- and second-largest populations in the world.
Kantar Worldpanel provided a regional breakdown of these numbers earlier this week.
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Apple doesn’t need to “beat” Android to win. Despite the sensationalist need to put them against each other – in reality they are targeted at different type of people. I’ve been an iOS user for a long time – but I’ve dabbled with Android. It’s great if you like to tinker. And it’s (in the past been) horrible if you want a consistent and smoother experience (guessing this may change with Lollipop). iOS is great if you want a simple and stress free (usually) experience. Both platforms have room for improvement and could benefit from bug fixes more often.
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Microsoft, iOs and Android captures 99% global market share in Q3
I remember a year or so back how the Wall Street analysts were saying how Microsoft’s Windows Phone was going to easily overtake iOS for second place due to lower pricing and selling to BRIC nations. As near as I can tell, Windows Phone market share has barely budged and with Google’s Android One and their $100 smartphones I doubt Windows Phone has any chance at all. The problem with analysts is that they make too many broad assumptions about the average consumer’s reasoning skills. Not all consumers want cheap junk. There has to be at least some fair percentage that want higher-quality products and Apple offers that to those consumers.
Nearly every analyst keeps saying that Apple should sell cheaper smartphones to compete with Android for market share. What’s the point? Chasing after major market share is a race to the bottom of the trash heap. It’s too much of a cut-throat business. Look at what happened to Samsung. Sure, they happily sold all sorts of cheap low- and mid-tier smartphones, but so what. Xiaomi came along and sold even cheaper ones. It really annoys me how analysts always think they’re smarter can run Apple better than the current management. Tim Cook tells them time and time again that Apple doesn’t have any interest in selling cheap junk but the analysts never listen. Apple started selling a more expensive iPhone Plus and Apple can’t even keep up with demand.
Wall Street’s current jag now is to go after the poorest people on the planet to sell them smartphones. Why? To pump up sales numbers. They think there’s some big pot of gold waiting at the end of that market share window. I doubt that very much. Wall Street feels Apple should go after the BRIC nation consumers simply because they exist. There’s little profitability to be had, so why should Apple even bother. What can any company get out of selling sub-$100 smartphones unless they only cost $50 to build? They’d have to use the cheapest components available and the end-product would be crap. This is what those Wall Street investors desire. It’s a pretty lousy desire the way I see it. The Wall Street geniuses have already seen what happened to Nokia in the past and now Samsung and yet they expect Apple to follow the same path. What a bunch of idiots.
Well said, Laughing Boy. The best-selling car in the world last year was the Toyota Corolla. Does that make it the best car in the world? Absolutely not.