IDC: Android grabbed 75 percent of smartphone market in Q3
Summary: Android continues to gobble up the global smartphone market, based on the latest figures from IDC.
Android continues to top list after list when it comes to the smartphone market share.
According to the IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker quarterly report, Google's mobile operating system accounts for 75 percent of the international smartphone market share.
In plainer terms, that means three out of four smartphones out there run on Android.
IDC analysts made a point of how remarkable this is based on the fact that Android is only four years old. (But then again, the smartphone market itself is only slightly older, arguably really took off with the launch of the iPhone in 2007.)
Nevertheless, it's the sheer pace at which Android has covered this amount of ground that has caught the eye and praise from analysts.
Ramon Llamas, a research manager covering mobile phones at IDC, remarked in the report that Android itself has been one of the reasons the smartphone market has grown the way it has since 2008.
In every year since then, Android has effectively outpaced the market and taken market share from the competition. In addition, the combination of smartphone vendors, mobile operators, and end-users who have embraced Android has driven shipment volumes higher. Even today, more vendors are introducing their first Android-powered smartphones to market.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty, approximately 136 million Android-based smartphone units shipped worldwide during the September quarter. IDC noted that Samsung was the primary leader in this regard, but pointed out that it slipped in comparison to some other OEM partners.
Apple made its way into a very distant second place with 14.9 percent of the market share and 26.9 million units shipped.
There are certainly a few reason why Apple is so far behind on a global (and domestic) level.
For one, there are simply many more Android-based smartphone models with more pricing and contract options worldwide than there are for the iPhone.
Second, it's worth remembering that the iPhone 5 debuted in September, so numbers for Apple could be higher at the end of the fourth quarter -- but don't expect iOS to overtake Android anytime soon.
One extra highlight from the Q3 IDC report is Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile.
Even ahead of the major release earlier this week, this OS saw a 140 percent positive point change on an annual basis, compared to 57.3 percent for iOS and 91.5 percent for Android.
Windows was also the only member of the top five mobile operating systems aside from Android and iOS to see positive market share changes. Both BlackBerry and Symbian, which placed ahead of Windows, dropped by 34.7 percent and 77.3 percent respectively.
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Talkback
iPhone is turning into the Mac
Apple's market share will decline until it is sub-10%, a mirror of where the Mac is.
Why didn't Steve Jobs see this coming?
Agree. I made that point a long time ago
Jobs was a slow learner in this particular area of his business.
Since profit is the only
To whom?
It may matter to Apple's shareholders and Apple. And in the short term, Apple may continue to do well. But over the last 3 revisions of the iPhone (4, 4S and 5) have demonstrated, as their innovations decline and they play catch-up to the latest Android devices, there will be fewer and fewer people willing to shell out outrageous prices, leading to carriers less willing to subsidize their phones (already happens in Asia, beginning to happen in Europe and will eventually happen in the US). It was many years before consumers smartened up and realized that Sony was merely sitting on past well-deserved laurels and just charging too much for inferior products. What does that do to Apple when that happens.
However, there is a big difference between the PC and Macs and iOS and Android. Microsoft Windows was an inferior product in many ways, while the hardware was typically a lot better and cheaper. In Google, on the other hand, Apple is now facing an extremely competent foe and Android is significantly better than iOS in many ways. It's not yet as consistent as iOS, but with 4.0 and 4.1, it's certainly now a better looking UI, more usable, more powerful, more customizable and quite simply notches better.
Apple still makes less confusing UIs and is well suited for your parents and grand parents, but Android has not only come a long way, it's galloping along in widening the gaps where it's better and narrowing the gaps where it's not.
You had better believe that profits will take a hit unless Apple is able to stop sliding down.
All I can say is - .......
Volume and market share matter a great deal in the long run. What is the point of being phenomenally profitable for a few short years and then be reduced to a small niche player because you refused to license and reduce your margins?
What do you think will happen to developer interest, cost of manufacture etc. if Apple's market share keeps shrinking?
You can chew on that point if you are able.
The size of your userbase matters as well.
It's not ONLY about profit. There are many more factors that ultimately speak about the success of a product.
Windows Phone 8 will change it
my three kids on Android, two Samsung & pne Sony myself Blackberry, my wife Nokia phone
Doubt it
Ultimately they will both lose out.
So why has it not happened to Linux then?
Tiresome
As far as the desktop goes, I said "eventually" - not a difficult concept. A monopolist called MS at least played SOME part in Linux's failures on the desktop, but MS's relevance is waning. Also, pay attention to Chromebooks. I will buy two.
Linux was given at least 10 years to make it happen
And you wanna buy two Chromebooks? Why bother? Just download two copies of Chrome browser and there you have your two chromebooks, for free no less. LOL
The nervous idiot LOL
Where exactly do you find a 2.5 lbs notebook with a 6+ hour battery life and NO maintenance hassles, no data loss worries and no malware issues? If it meets ALL your needs, it is unbeatable, and there are millions and millions of users out there who would be VERY well served by Chromebooks.
I know it is your worst nightmare, but it is coming.
Your arguments are getting pretty tired, but I guess you are unable to come up with anything better.
You mean other than
Your argument is lame at best
You foss fools are hilarious.
"Came outta nowhere"???
Linux has had over 20 years
Linux won't catch OSX or Windows specifically because it is free. People have to figure out how to make money selling extras because they can't make money selling Linux
Context please!
Though I am a strong proponent of Android
As much as I hate to admit it, I rarely see any SGS3's, HTC One X's, or Galaxy Note II's throughout the day. When I do, I usually try to give a subtle head nod. I know that stats are accurate, for the most part, but I think they're mostly entry-level phones. That sucks
Very true
Good!