In the 4th quarter of 2012, iOS and Android combined to claim an unprecedented share of the global smartphone OS market.
Android and iOS – the world’s top two smartphone operating systems, respectively – combined for 91.1% of all smartphone shipments during the final three months of 2012.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Android smartphone vendors and Apple shipped a total of 207.6 million units worldwide during Q4. When you compare this to the numbers from 2011, you’re looking at a significant 70.2% increase in shipments from the two smartphone giants.
“The dominance of Android and Apple reached a new watermark in the fourth quarter,” explains Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC. “Android boasted a broad selection of smartphones, and an equally deep list of smartphone vendor partners. Finding an Android smartphone for nearly any budget, taste, size, and price was all but guaranteed during 2012. As a result, Android was rewarded with market-beating growth.”
“Likewise, demand for Apple’s iPhone 5 kept iOS out in front and in the hands of many smartphone users,” added Llamas. “At the same time, lower prices on the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S brought iOS within reach of more users and sustained volume success of older models. Even with the Apple Maps debacle, iPhone owners were not deterred from purchasing new iPhones.”
