Android has been rather aggressive as of late in capturing smartphone market share that was previously held by Apple. It was a while ago that Android had surpassed iOS in global market share, but now it looks like it’s an unstoppable juggernaut.
In its latest report, IDC shared total smartphone shipments from the second quarter of this year. Android came out way ahead of the competition with 187.4 million units shipped last quarter for 79.3 percent of the global market share. Apple’s iOS was in second place with 31.2 million units shipped for 13.2 percent of the global marketshare.
As for the other guys, Windows Phone came in a respectable third place with 8.7 million units shipped for 3.7 percent of the global market share. BlackBerry OS brought up the rear with 6.8 million units shipped for 2.9 percent of the global market share.
So, what’s up with Apple? IDC argues that we’ll see iOS device shipments come back in force later this year when Apple launches the iPhone 5S:
“The iOS decline in the second quarter aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone,” says Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team. “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 re-capture market share.”
As for Android device manufacturers, IDC reports that Samsung reigns supreme with 73.3 million units shipped for 39.1 percent of the global Android market share in the second quarter. The closest competitor is LG with 12.1 million units shipped, and it can be assumed that most of those are Nexus 4 devices for Google. Chinese manufacturers like Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE round out the major players.
IDC also took a look at Windows Phone shipments in the second quarter, and found that Nokia rules that particular roost. The Finnish phone manufacturer shipped 7.1 million Windows Phone devices last quarter for 81.6 percent of the global Windows Phone marketshare. The closest competitor was Samsung with only 1 million devices shipped.
“Last quarter we witnessed Windows Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry and the trend has continued into the second quarter,” said Ryan Reith, Program Manager with IDC’s Mobility Tracker Programs. “Nokia has clearly been the driving force behind the Windows Phone platform, and we expect that to continue. However, as more and more vendors enter the smartphone market using the Android platform, we expect Windows Phone to become a more attractive differentiator in this very competitive market segment.”
In short, Android and iOS are still dominating the smartphone market and that’s not going to change anytime soon. What will change is how Windows Phone 8 fits into the market as it continues to mature into an attractive alternative option for those seeking something different.