Android takes 70% market share

The Google-owned operating system was installed on 69,7% of smartphones sold to end users in the fourth quarter of 2012, up from 51,3% a year earlier, new research shows.

Added by Duncan McLeod on 13 February 2013.
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Android-640

Anyone in doubt that Android is poised to be the Windows of the smartphone era, read on. Google’s market share of operating systems on smartphones leapt to 69,7% of the total market in the fourth quarter of 2012, from 51,3% a year earlier. That represents a 33% increase.

During the quarter, 144,7m smartphones were shipped running the Internet giant’s Android software.

This is according to new research from analyst firm Gartner.

The only other company to increase its market share significantly during the period was Microsoft, with its Windows Phone platform accounting for 3% of the market in the final quarter of 2012, up by 67% over the 1,8% market share it had in the same period in 2011.

Apple’s market share with iOS, meanwhile, fell to 20,9% from 23,6% previously, with 43,5m devices sold in the three months ended December 2012.

BlackBerry, which was until last month known as Research in Motion, has clearly felt a great deal of pain with its market share plummeting over the past year from 8,8% to just 3,5%. Just over 7,3m BlackBerry devices were sold in the fourth quarter of 2012 against 13,2m a year earlier.

If it continues shedding market share, it appears likely that Windows Phone will overtake the BlackBerry operating system as the third largest smartphone platform sooner rather than later. BlackBerry is, of course, fighting back hard with the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 software and Z10 and Q10 smartphones.

Samsung’s Bada was placed fourth in the fourth quarter of 2012 with a market share of 1,3% (2,1% previously), followed by Symbian, which is languishing at just 1,2%, from 11,6% a year ago.

Feature-phone decline
According to Gartner, worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totalled 1,75bn units in 2012, representing a 1,7% decline over 2011. However, smartphones continued to drive overall mobile phone sales, and the fourth quarter of 2012 saw record smartphone sales of 207,7m units, up by 38,3% from the same period last year.

“The last time the worldwide mobile phone market declined was in 2009,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Tough economic conditions, shifting consumer preferences and intense market competition weakened the worldwide mobile phone market this year.”

Demand for feature phones remained weak in 2012 and in the fourth quarter. Sales of these devices totalled 264,4m in the fourth quarter of 2012, down by 19,3% year on year.

Gartner analysts expect feature phones sales to continue to fall in 2013 and sales of worldwide smartphone sales to end users to be close to 1bn units. Overall mobile phone sales to end users are estimated to reach 1,9bn units.  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    The puzzle pieces of the Google ecosystem are really not that difficult to put together and I find it quite surprising that there would be some people who would want to bet against Google when there are over a billion worse bets one could make.

  • http://www.facebook.com/j.n.smit Jaco Smit

    Go Android!

  • Mombasa69

    Android have hit their peak, but no one stays on top forever, and BlackBerry is far from dead, and will regain market share, I’m waiting for the BlackBerry Q10, I wont touch Android with a barge pole, I don’t give my money to tax avoiding corporations.

  • JayMankind

    Are you talking about a fruity company that routinely gouges its customer and has over a $100 billion stashed abroad for which they have paid exactly 0% tax? Or are you confused a tad?

  • JayMankind

    Target: 95%

  • Greg Mahlknecht

    Blackberry’s been avoiding tax by posting losses. Sneaky. Those Canadians play the loooooong game.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    Android, iOS and Windows are the future… conventional wisdom, otherwise known as common sense, are all that it takes to deduce this and one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist. Judging from your Avatar you’re not from the same world that we’re all living in so you’ll be forgiven for your lack of common sense and misguided belief in a worthless brand with no real ecosystem like BB.

  • http://twitter.com/social_bizniz Malcolm Mersham

    Mombasa69 … am I to assume your born in 1969 based on that name? I’m going to for the sake of this discussion. It’s obvious as Vusi Sibiya mentioned that your a little misguided, or perhaps your a bit old school conservative. Tax dodging? Pretty much every major corporation does this.

    Besides, us new gen x/y folks kinda like that idea. In fact, I think “google people” are “hackers” by definition. And we kinda like not working 8-5, playing in our offices and are quite pro-anti establishment. There are definitely a lot more of us driving this market.

    The market is big enough to support IOS, Android, Windows & potentially BB if they find their niche. You’ve got 2-3 other players coming within the next 24 months, including ubuntu, sailfish and er … firefox.

  • ixhd

    Because conventional wisdom and common sense is always such a good way to ensure we’re on track.

    Not too long ago:
    Earth was flat
    Woman weren’t allowed in schools
    Video was going to kill the Music industry
    Pluto was a planet

    :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    Common sense also says you should stop at a red traffic light, however if you want to explore a new and improved way of regulating our roads, you are most welcome to be a pioneer that disregards stopping at red traffic lights.

    Until you’ve convinced the majority about the merits of your new thinking, I would advise you apply the prevailing common sense within society or as has been experienced by other pioneers, the consequences of doing otherwise are most likely to prove fatal.

    Society works on democratic principles and the smart pioneers realize this and are able to effect change within a democratic society and also be around to enjoy the benefits of their innovative thinking by always choosing to be on the winning side.

  • ixhd

    By your own definition of common sense, Windows is there for not worth paying attention to anymore than BB is :)

    However it’s not smart to assume that just because something isn’t popular now, it’s worthless.

    That is exactly how iPhone ate RIM/Nokia/etc lunch.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    Noted… Worthless is with reference to their performance financially and their continued downward trend. They can’t possibly hope to revive themselves with an innovation that Steve Jobs introduced with the first iPhone.

    Windows with Nokia are what can be considered a potential threat. All that needs to happen is for Nokia to stop it’s power-playing with MS. No marriage will ever work out if you have ties with an old Symbian relationship that should long have been buried and whilst you continue to flirt with wannabes’ at Intel in the form of MeeGo.

    If the two parties give the required 150% commitment to their marriage they can definitely leverage an already existing base to effectively compete in what will be a battle of ecosystems between Google, Apple and Windows.

    Just because you try to emulate another company that is named after a fruit by changing your name, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to emulate their success. Besides we all grew up knowing that an apple a day keeps the doctor away… I can’t say too much for the blackberry fruit and the former RIM isn’t doing much either to give appeal to it.

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