According to freshly published research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments reached 375 million units in the third quarter of 2016.
And it’s a big Android success story.
The Android operating system captured a record 88 percent global marketshare, squeezing Apple iOS and others, the report summary notes.
Linda Sui, Director at Strategy Analytics, says global smartphone shipments grew 6 percent annually from 354.2 million units in Q3 2015 to 375.4 million in Q3 2016.
“This was the smartphone industry’s fastest growth rate for a year,” Sui writes. “Modest smartphone regrowth is being supported by emerging markets with relatively low smartphone penetration across Asia and Africa Middle East, particularly countries such as India and South Africa.”
“Android’s domination of global smartphone shipments remained strong in Q3 2016, with a record 88 percent of all smartphones now running Google’s OS,” adds Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics. “Android’s gain came at the expense of every major rival platform. Apple iOS lost ground to Android and dipped to 12 percent share worldwide in Q3 2016, due to a lackluster performance in China and Africa. BlackBerry and Microsoft Windows Phone have all but disappeared due to strategic shifts, while Tizen and other emerging platforms softened as a result of limited product portfolios and modest developer support.”
