Few years ago, Android OS was a nobody in the burgeoning mobile phone industry. Many "advised" Google to just stick to search and leave the mobile phone OS business to the incumbents. They proved everyone wrong and how! 1.8 Billion new mobile phones were sold just last year alone, smartphones comprising more than half of that. And 80% of that market belongs to Android, winning the smartphone platform war convincingly and then some.
Android surge continues..
Interesting tidbits from the study:
Android surge continues..
Interesting tidbits from the study:
- 7.1 Billion mobile phone accounts in use worldwide, with many places such as Hong Kong surpassing more than 100% penetration rate!
- 5.4 Billion mobile phones in use worldwide. The industry sold 1.8 Billion new mobile phones just last year alone. And more than half of the new sales are now smartphones (990 million were in 2013).
- In the installed base, already 31% of all mobile phones in use are smartphones (1.7 Billion units) and this year will sell about 1.2 Billion more with roughly half going to replace older smartphones and half going to first-time smartphone owners.
- Android has now utterly won the smartphone platform war with over 80% of new sales. Apple's iPhone has peaked and is in gradual decline at about 15% with the remnant few percent split among Windows, Blackberry and miscellaneous others.
- Interestingly, when you consider the installed base of smartphone users, Symbian and Blackberry are ahead of Windows, with Windows lingering in fifth ranking among smartphone operating systems by actual devices in use. Android and iPhone obviously dominate the installed base as well.