Related Articles
Google’s Android operating system dominated the mobile arena last quarter, according to new data from research firm IDC.
IDC reported that 104.8 million Android-based smartphones shipped worldwide during the second quarter, representing a 106.5 percent gain over the 50.8 million handsets that launched in the same period last year. Android nabbed 68.1 percent of the smartphone market last quarter.
Android’s top competitor, Apple’s iOS, was dominated by Google’s operating system last quarter, nabbing only 16.9 percent market share on 26 million smartphone shipments. That figure was up 27.5 percent compared with the 20.4 million iPhones that hit store shelves during the second quarter last year.
“Android continues to fire on all cylinders,” Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends program, said today in a statement. “The market was entreated to several flagship models from Android’s handset partners, prices were well within reach to meet multiple budgetary needs, and the user experience from both Google and its handset partners boosted Android smartphones’ utility far beyond simple telephony.”
Although Android is dominating iOS, the two operating systems together secured 85 percent of smartphone shipments during the second quarter, leaving scraps to all others.
Related stories
- Maybe Don’t Update Your iPhone to iOS 16 Yet. Here’s Why
- Apple Confirms iPhone 14 Pro Camera Shake Issue, Says Fix Coming Next Week
- Apple SharePlay Makes Movie Night From Afar Easy
- ‘Cannot Verify AirPods’ in iOS 16? Your Earbuds Might Be to Blame
- iOS 16 Won’t Revive the Battery Icon for Every iPhone
Speaking of scraps, only Apple and Samsung are actually making money in the smartphone market. Earlier this week, Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley wrote in a note to investors that Apple and Samsung combine to secure 108 percent of the handset industry’s operating profit. They’re able to secure more than 100 percent because so many other companies, including Research In Motion and Nokia, post heavy operating losses.
Although IDC didn’t get into financials in its study, the research firm revealed that the BlackBerry OS was down 40.9 percent in the second quarter year over year, nabbing just 4.8 percent market share on 7.4 million shipments. Symbian was down 62.9 percent from a year ago to 6.8 million shipments and 4.4 percent market share.
The biggest gainer on the quarter was Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, which saw shipments rise 115.3 percent from 2.5 million in the second quarter last year to 5.4 million in the same period this year.
All told, 154 million smartphones were shipped worldwide during the second quarter, representing a 42.2 percent gain over the second quarter of 2011.
