Google has managed to stroll past the 80 percent market share with its Android mobile operating system for the first time in Q3 2013 accounting for a total of 211.6 million units shipped according to new data from International Data Corporation (IDC).
IDC revealed in a press release that Q3, 2013 proved to be great quarter for Android as it managed to garner 81 percent share of total smartphones shipped marking a 51.3 percent year-on-year increase. The primary reason behind Android’s success is the long list of vendors using Android to power their smartphones across the globe. Another factor is the low price outlay for Android smartphones compared to Apple iPhones.
Apple’s iOS powered iPhones accounted for 12.9 percent of the shipped devices from 33.8 million units. iOS share actually fell by 1.5 percent points from 14.4 percent in the previous quarter. However, Apple did register a 25.6 percent increase over the same period last year.
Windows Phone also managed to register a small gain with 9.5 million units shipped thereby gaining 3.6 percent share. The platform managed to register a gain of 1.6 percent points over the previous quarter and a whopping 156 percent year-on-year growth.
BlackBerry came in fourth with 1.7 percent share from 4.5 million units shipped. The platform’s year-on-year share fell by a whopping 41.6 percent.
“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,” said Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team.
“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”, Llamas added.
