Android’s popularity is Increasing with Google’s mobile operating system

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Google’s Android mobile operating system now accounts for almost 80 percent of the global smartphone market while Apple’s slice has shrunk to 13 percent, the latest numbers from market research firm International Data Corp (IDC) have revealed.

According to IDC’s figures for the global smartphone market during the second quarter, Android’s popularity is not slowing with Google’s mobile operating system now accounting for 79.3 percent of the smartphone market. This shows year on year growth of 73.5 percent, with 187.4 million Android devices reportedly shipped during the quarter compared to 108 million in the second quarter of 2012.

According to IDC, this growth was spurred by the Samsung Galaxy S4, along with devices from LG, Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE, which each recorded “double-digit shipment volumes in the millions”.

While things are seemingly going pretty well for Android, Google’s success seems to be hitting Apple where it hurts, with iOS now accounting for just 13.2 percent of the smartphone market. While this is a 20 percent increase year on year, with iPhone sales increasing from 21.2 million to 26 million, it shows Apple’s iOS struggling to catch up with its rival mobile operating system.

Ramon Llamas, research manager for IDC’s mobile phone team said, “The iOS decline in the second quarter aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone.
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“Without a new product launch since the debut of the iPhone 5 nearly a year ago, Apple’s market share was vulnerable to product launches from the competition. But with a new iPhone and revamped iOS coming out later this year, Apple is well positioned to recapture market share.”

There’s better news, perhaps surprisingly, for Microsoft, with its Windows Phone mobile operating system showing 77.6 percent growth during the second quarter, pushing ahead of rival Blackberry. Microsoft, which accounts for 3.7 percent of the smartphone market, shipped 8.7 million Windows Phone devices in the second quarter, compared to 4.9 million in the same period last year.

Blackberry, on the other hand, sold 6.8 million smartphones, down 11.7 percent compared to the 7.7 million it shipped in the second quarter last year, seeing its market share shrink to 2.9 percent.

Ryan Reith, a programme manager at IDC said, “Last quarter we witnessed Windows Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry and the trend has continued into the second quarter.

“Nokia has clearly been the driving force behind the Windows Phone platform and we expect that to continue.”

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