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Android now accounts for 3 in 4 smartphones shipped worldwide

Android now accounts for 3 in 4 smartphones shipped worldwide

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 2 November 2012 13:55 IST

Android software powered three out of four smartphones shipped worldwide in the recently ended third quarter as the Google-backed mobile platform dominated the market, industry tracker IDC said Thursday.

Android smartphones shipments surged to 136 million, topping those in the same three-month period last year by slightly more than 90 percent, according to an IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report.

The Android share of the market climbed to 75 percent from 57.5 percent in a year-over-year comparison. A total of 181.1 million smartphones were shipped in the third quarter of this year, according to IDC.

Operating System	3Q12 Shipment Volumes	3Q12 Market Share	3Q11 Shipment Volumes	3Q11 Market Share	Year-Over-Year Change
Android	136.0	75.0%	71.0	57.5%	91.5%
iOS	26.9	14.9%	17.1	13.8%	57.3%
BlackBerry	7.7	4.3%	11.8	9.5%	-34.7%
Symbian	4.1	2.3%	18.1	14.6%	-77.3%
Windows Phone 7/ Windows Mobile	3.6	2.0%	1.5	1.2%	140.0%
Linux	2.8	1.5%	4.1	3.3%	-31.7%
Others	0.0	0.0%	0.1	0.1%	-100.0%
Total	181.1	100.0%	123.7	100.0%	46.4%

Top Six Smartphone Mobile Operating Systems, Shipments, and Market Share, Q3 2012 (Preliminary) (Units in Millions)

"Android has been one of the primary growth engines of the smartphone market since it was launched in 2008," said IDC mobile phones research manager Ramon Llamas.

"In every year since then, Android has effectively outpaced the market and taken market share from the competition."

Shipments of iPhones rose nearly 14 percent to 26.9 million in the quarter giving Apple a slightly improved 14.9 percent share of the market as the overall market grew 46.4 percent, according to IDC.

Smartphones powered by Microsoft Windows software also gained ground in the quarter, with their share of the market growing to two percent.

Microsoft this week unveiled innovative new Windows Phone 8 handsets along with a growing library of applications, music, services and more.

BlackBerry and Symbian smartphones meanwhile saw their shares of the market slide.

Chart: Worldwide Smartphone OS Market Share, 2012Q3Description: IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker provides smart phone and feature phone market data in 60 countries and 8 regions by vendor, device type, air interface, operating systems and platforms, and generation. Over 20 additional technical segmentations are provided. The data is provided four times a year and includes historical and forecast trend analysis. For more information, or to subscribe to the research, please contact Kathy Nagamine at 1-650-350-6423 or knagamine@idc.com.Further detail about this tracker can be found at:http://www.idc.com/tracker/showproductinfo.jsp?prod_id=37Tags: Samsung, Apple, Mobile Phone, Smartphone, IDC, tracker, Q3 2012, mobile phones, 3Q 2012, market share, galaxy, iPhone, Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Phone, Linux, 2012Q3, AnniversaryAuthor: IDCcharts powered by iCharts

"The share decline of smartphone operating systems not named iOS since Android's introduction isn't a coincidence," said IDC senior research analyst Kevin Restivo.

"The smartphone operating system isn't an isolated product, it's a crucial part of a larger technology ecosystem," he continued. "Google has a thriving, multi-faceted product portfolio."

The availability of desirable "apps" and digital content such as music, films, and games is considered crucial to the success of smartphones.

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