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Topic: Mobility

iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

Summary: Apple and Google has forced every major handset provider through a major transition.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

As RIM's market share goes into freefall, the smartphone market is a two-horse race between Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms, and according to data by NPD, no other player has a market share worth mentioning.

Android's market share grew 28% between January and October of this year to command 53% of the US smartphone market, while iOS was up by 38% to grab 29% of the market.

"The competitive landscape for smartphones, which has been reshaped by Apple and Google, has ultimately forced every major handset provider through a major transition," said Ross Rubin, executive director, Connected Intelligence for The NPD Group. "For many of them, 2012 will be a critical year in assessing how effective their responses have been."

One of those hardest hit is RIM, down a massive 59% and now has to make do with a market share of 10%. Even RIM's crop of new handsets such as the Bold 9930 or the Torch 9810 could do little to prevent the slide.

“Few companies have felt the impact of the shift to touch user interfaces and larger screen sizes as negatively as RIM, but the company is beginning anew with a strong technical foundation and many paths to the platform,” said Rubin.

Microsoft isn't doing very well either. While it's expected that the doomed Windows Mobile platform would see a slide (to 3%), Windows Phone 7 has only managed to grow from 1% in 2010 to 2% (though you could look at that as a 100% growth).

According to Rubin "Nokia and Microsoft must build from almost nothing to carve out success between the consistency of the iPhone and the flexibility of Android."

Symbian and Palm/webOS are also in decline, as we'd expect for dying platforms.

Looking at that chart above, you really get a feeling for how things have changed since 2006. All the big players from back then have been totally crushed by Android and iOS. With RIM well on the way to a single-digit market share, and Windows Phone 7 chuntering along at 2%, I think it's safe to say that Android and iOS will continue to dominate for some time.

2012 will be interesting. Since there's much much market share to crush from the competition, how long until Android starts putting major pressure on iOS and its market share?

(via BGR)

Related:

Topics: Mobility, Android, Apple, Google, Hardware, Mobile OS, BlackBerry, Smartphones

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51 comments
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  • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

    Another useless bunch of worry troll BS from the geniuses at zdnet. Desperate for page views I see... Sorry I clicked. Get back to us when Android phones and the Android OS become as profitable as iOS on iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.
    Delvardo
    Reply Vote

    • Sorry I took the time

      @Delvardo
      To read your lame post.
      But once I did, just had to reply ;)
      rhonin
      Reply Vote

    • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

      @Delvardo Profit is a different issue. Just look at the Apple computer marketshare. They've been at no more than 10% for decades. Through profitable and unprofitable times. Windows machines have always had a huge marketshare because of customizability and price. It's also why you have the most and best software designed for that platform. Software vendors care more about a huge user base than anything else.
      mrxxxman
      Reply Vote

      • "most and best software"

        most, maybe. Best? Hardly.
        baggins_z
        Reply Vote

    • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

      @Delvardo
      Thanks for your concern, yes Apple executives should continue to remain filthy rich. Seems like they could reduce profit margins a bit so that the kids in china aren't working for peanuts in unsafe, low paying conditions, as executive pockets are lined with more billions. Will be interesting to see if that green bar continues clamping down on the rest of the pile.
      willyampz
      Reply Vote

    • Why do you care? Do you think higher profit margins means superiority?

      @Delvardo - just curious, what's the thinking process that says profitability means better? Are you making a very specific statement as a mobile app developer? If not, why would you care which is more profitable?
      daboochmeister
      Reply Vote

    • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

      @Delvardo You talk about profitability as if you are profiting. You are the one they are profiting off charging you more for less. Apple computers come with low specs and the operating system is extremely dated.
      techenduser
      Reply Vote

  • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

    "...how long until Android starts putting major pressure on iOS and its market share?"

    Huh? Android is [i]already[/i] putting major pressure on iOS and its market share. Without Android, iOS market share would have been over 70% by now.
    SleepyBob
    Reply Vote

    • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

      @SleepyBob <br>No, Apple is building phones as fast as it possibly can and still gradually rolling out the iPhone to new telcos. Meanwhile, every other OEM simply swapped out their prehistoric Palm/Symbian/Motorola/WinMo OS for Android and they were instantly available on every telco anywhere. The iPhone 4S is the first iPHone that Apple can sell to virtually every telco everywhere.<br><br>Also, iOS is much, much more than iPhone. iPads and iPod touches are growing virtually unopposed and Android still has nothing competitive. Apple is building an entire ecosystem and is making money on every phase of the ecosystem. Google is throwing an OS against the wall and seeing what sticks. Yes, that OS is on an amazing number of smartphones, but nothing else about the ecosystem has been very successful--not the tablets, the media players, the TVbox, the appstore, or the media store.
      Synthmeister
      Reply Vote

      • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

        And let's not forget a couple things:

        1) The lesser controls on the Android app market is leading to more malware. How many bad experiences before a user ditches their Android phone?

        2) These are the U.S. numbers. How fast are iOS and Android each growing abroad?
        techboy_z
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

        @Synthmeister The iPod touch is growing? Really? The PMP marketing is shrinking because of smart phones.
        jgm@...
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

        @Synthmeister I guess you live in iWorld and not on planet Earth. Android is eating Apple market share left and right and from all directions. It's obvious with smarphones. So much so that Apple was forced to keep older iPhone models this time and discount them for the first time to compete.

        And on the tablet side, Android continues to eat up market share. With the upcoming Android 4.0, it will only accelerate. Just look at the pre-sale orders of the upcoming ASUS Transformer Prime. Pre-sale orders were sold out in a few days.

        Apple's one size fits all approach is failing in the face of Android's open design concept where mobile devices don't have to be a certain size or have the same hardware.

        Personally, I'll be moving from my year old Dell Streak 5" to the Samsung Galaxy Note 5.3" in about 6 months. You have heard of the Galaxy Note, right? You know that device that works both as a phone and tablet and has a built-in stylus. Exquisite tech. :)
        mrxxxman
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

        "Apple was forced to keep older iPhone models this time and discount them for the first time to compete."mrxxxman

        The iPhone GS - a 2 year old phone - has reportedly sold 2 million units in the first two months of the quarter. If Apple's 2 year old phone is outselling the majority of current Android handsets, then I don't think Apple has much to worry about.
        Falkirk
        Reply Vote

      • Apple's two year old iPhone GS is outselling many Android phones

        "Apple was forced to keep older iPhone models this time and discount them for the first time to compete."mrxxxman

        The iPhone GS - a 2 year old phone - has reportedly sold 2 million units in the first two months of the quarter. If Apple's 2 year old phone is outselling the majority of current Android handsets, then I don't think Apple has much to worry about.
        Falkirk
        Reply Vote

  • Why would you downplay it?

    "Windows Phone 7 has only managed to grow from 1% in 2010 to 2% (though you could look at that as a 100% growth)."<br><br>When Mac share grows from 2% to 4% everyone was cheering about Apple's 100% growth. It is easy to show big growth numbers when you start from a pitiful marketshare.
    toddybottom
    Reply Vote

    • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

      @toddybottom When the default is as ubiquitous as Windows in a market with next to no competition 2% to 4% is meaningful. When you are Microsoft and your total smartphone share (WM & WP7) goes from 8% to 5%, you are doing terrible. Ancient Windows Mobile is at 3%!
      kingcobra23
      Reply Vote

    • RE: iOS and Android dominate smartphone market, but how long until Apple feels the pinch?

      @toddybottom
      Apple adds around a $1 billion in revenue to its bottom line when the Mac grows 1%. Selling 1% more WinMo licenses at $8 - $15 a pop does almost nothing for MS.
      Synthmeister
      Reply Vote

    • Yes - and add to that, where is even that small growth coming from?

      @toddybottom - I would bet that a good percentage of that comes from people leaving WinMo, which is not the greenfield MS needs to become a player.
      daboochmeister
      Reply Vote

  • It is Android feeling the pinch not Apple

    Err Adrian, can't you read that chart?<br><br>If you look at it a bit closer you will see that Android is plateauing while Apple's iOS is accelerating. It is Android that is starting to feel the pinch not Apple.<br><br>Android has gone from 350% marketshare growth in 2009 to 367% growth in 2010 but then plunged to only 28% growth in 2011.<br><br>In contrast the iPhone's marketshare which shrank 14% in 2010 has surged 38% so far this year compared to the whole of 2010 and that doesn't even include the bulk of iPhone 4s sales in the lead-up to Christmas.<br><br>Now part of Android's slowing is to be expected as the platform matures but that only highlights how impressive the iPhone's gains this year have been. <br><br>Of course when you add in the full iOS platform with the iPad and iPod touch both dominating in tablets and mini-tablets, your comment about Android putting pressure on iOS is even less likely.
    marthill
    Reply Vote

    • I wonder if the iPhone 4S numbers are in there

      @marthill - That would skew things. I would think they would be, given when the 4S pre-order/sales hit. Android didn't have a comparable heavy-sales phone in that same time period - there was a lull leading up to the new ICS handsets, which are selling very well.

      Will be an interesting next few months to track - that'll put all the jockeying in perspective.
      daboochmeister
      Reply Vote
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