In a not-so-surprising turn of events, 2012 numbers show that Android and iOS dominated the smartphone market with a combined market share of 87.6%. Data published by research firm IDC has shown that Android had a 70.2 percent growth in Q4 of 2012, as compared with the same quarter in 2011. This brought its shipments up to 207.6 million from 122.0 million in Q4 of 2011. Overall, Android and iOS controlled 91.1 percent of the smartphone market in the last quarter. Overall smartphone shipments were at 722.4 million in 2012, up from 494.5 million in 2011 – when Android and iOS only had 68.1 percent of the market.
Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC’s mobile phone team, was quoted remarking upon the new milestone in Android and iOS domination. According to Llamas, Android’s strength lies in truly wholesome availability – both in terms of breadth and depth. Android phones are available from a large array of vendors and spread across all price points. It’s really possible to find Android phones in all sizes, prices, specifications, etc.
Apple’s iOS, on the other hand, stayed at second position because of the popularity of the iPhone 5, as per Llamas’ statements. iPhone demand was also bolstered by the increased availability of cheaper iPhone 4 and 4S models after the 5 came out. In spite of software glitches like Apple Maps, the iPhone continued to remain a favorite across the world. Together, iOS and Android have commanded more than 50 percent of the world’s smartphone users in the last two years.
2013 may be the year of the third big OS, as Microsoft and BlackBerry rush in with their own platforms. Microsoft released Windows Phone late last year, and so far the operating system has seen impressive growth. This is mostly because Nokia decided to adopt it, and Nokia Lumia devices have been selling really well. BlackBerry pushed its release of the BB10 to the spring, so it didn’t feature strongly in last year’s numbers. However, with the first phones with the new OS being sold worldwide, it seems like BlackBerry may be in for a come back.
All said and done, it cannot be denied that Windows Phone, BlackBerry 10 and even the imminent operating systems like Sailfish, Ubuntu and Tizen, have a very steep slope to climb if they hope to make a mark in the smartphone market.
