Android’s rise and rise has been emphatic, and now new research shows that it truly is the king of the smartphone operating systems, commanding a immense 81% of the global market.
Figures from the International Data Corp (IDC) report that 4 out of 5 smartphones are powered by Android, with around 211.6 million Android smartphones being shipped in the third quarter this year.
Android bagged an astonishing 51% year-on-year increase in market share, while Apple dropped from 14.4% to 12.2 %.
Powered by the rather wonderful Nokia Lumia handsets, Windows Phone enjoyed a stonking 156% year-on-year rise – although their market share remains a considerable distance behind Android and Apple, rising from
Sadly, it’s a very different tale for the beleaguered Blackberry, which saw its already decimated 4.1% share crash to just 1.7%.
Commenting on the figures, a spokesperson for IDC said:
“Android and Windows Phone continued to make significant strides in the third quarter. Despite their differences in market share, they both have one important factor behind their success: price. Both platforms have a selection of devices available at prices low enough to be affordable to the mass market, and it is the mass market that is driving the entire market forward.”
[Via]
