Android's growth continues to impress, grabbing a whopping 85 percent share of the world's total smartphone shipments, according to market research firm IDC.
While it was no big secret that Android is the most popular mobile platform of all, it's still impressive to see just how much ground the OS has gained. According to IDC, Android smartphone shipments accounted for as much as 85 percent of the world's total output, marking a 33 percent increase from the nearly 80 percent this time last year.
"With many of its OEM partners focusing on the sub-$200 segments, Android has been reaping huge gains with emerging markets," said Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "During the second quarter, 58.6% of all Android smartphone shipments worldwide cost less than $200 off contract, making them very attractive compared to other devices. With the recent introduction of Android One, in which Google offers reference designs below $100 to Android OEMs, the proportion of sub-$200 volumes will climb even higher."
"Android reached a new record for market share during 2Q14, nearly doubling its share from just three years ago. Samsung once again led the charge, accounting for 29.3% of all Android-powered shipments, down from its 40.0% share of two years ago. Since then, competitors including Coolpad, Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, and ZTE have all grown their respective volumes are jockeying for position in the rankings behind Samsung," IDC adds in its report.
Android smartphone shipments totaled 255.3 million units, while iOS smartphone shipments totaled only 35.2 million (up from 31.2 million last year). IDC further notes that the second quarter marks a market share decline for iOS, despite Apple posting a 12.7% year-over-year shipment growth.
Combined, Android and iOS accounted for 96.4 percent of the market in the second quarter of this year, hardly leaving any room for competitors. Windows Phone has retained its position on the third spot, but dropped from 3.4 percent last year to 2.5 percent this year. IDC, however, believes that Microsoft's platform may still turn things around with new devices, especially ones from other OEMs.
BlackBerry, meanwhile, is in an even riskier position than before, as it now holds only a meager 0.5 percent of the market, down from 2.8 percent in the same quarter last year.
"Following three consecutive quarters of sequential decline, BlackBerry volumes have rebounded slightly from the previous quarter, but remain 78.0% lower than shipment levels from a year ago," IDC explains. "In keeping with its strategy, BlackBerry saw improvement within one of its key markets, Asia/Pacific, as well as some gains among enterprise users within North America and Western Europe."
