If youre doing the math, it means that 82% of all smartphones purchased today is either Android or Apple.
Research firm IDC’s latest smartphone OS numbers show that Google’s Android OS and Apple’s iOS now own 81 percent of the global smartphone market, a dramatic change from last year.
It should also be noted that Samsung represented 45.4% of all Android smartphone shipments.
IDC says 50 percent more smartphones were sold in the first quarter of 2012 as opposed to 2011, but none of the other OS competitors could grab a slice of that fast growing pie.
Just last year there were four operating systems, all with between 15 percent and 40 percent share, according to IDC: Android, Symbian, iOS, and BlackBerry.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC)Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the mobile operating systems held shares of 59.0% and 23.0% respectively of the 152.3 million smartphones shipped in 1Q12.
During the first quarter of 2011, the two operating systems held a combined share of 54.4%.
We’re hearing wireless carriers and OEMs complain that they don’t want to be too dependent on Google, which may lessen Android’s share in favor of either Windows Phone or the up and coming Tizen.
This is true because developer intentions or enthusiasm for a particular operating system is typically a leading indicator of hardware sales success.
The popularity of Android and iOS stems from a combination of factors that the competition has struggled to keep up with, said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDCs Mobile Phone Technology and Trends program.
Neither Android nor iOS were the first to market with some of these features, but the way they made the smartphone experience intuitive and seamless has quickly earned a massive following.
In order for operating system challengers to gain share, their creators and hardware partners need to secure developer loyalty, said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDCs Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program.
This is true because developer intentions or enthusiasm for a particular operating system is typically a leading indicator of hardware sales success.
Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, and has seen a number of updates to its base operating system since its original release.
In addition, Android boasted the longest list of smartphone vendor partners.
Samsung was the largest contributor to Androids success, accounting for 45.4% of all Android based smartphone shipments.
But beyond Samsung was a mix of companies retrenching themselves or slowly growing their volumes.iOS recorded strong year over year growth with sustained demand for the iPhone 4S following the holiday quarter and the addition of numerous mobile operators offering the iPhone for the first time.
Although end user demand remains high, the iPhones popularity brings additional operational pressures for mobile operators through subsidy and data revenue sharing policies.
Nokia’s total Symbian collapse hasn’t been accompanied by the rise of Windows Phone, which commands a mere 2.2 percent global share.
But even as Symbian volumes have decreased, there continues to be demand for the OS from the most ardent of users.
In addition, Nokia continues to support Symbian, as evidenced by the PureView initiative on the Nokia 808.
Still, as Nokia emphasizes Windows Phone, IDC expects further declines for Symbian for the rest of this year.
BlackBerry continued on its downward trajectory as demand for older BlackBerry devices decreased and the market awaits the official release of BB 10 smartphones later this year.
In addition, many companies now permit users to bring their own smartphones, allowing competitor operating systems to take away from BlackBerrys market share.
Although RIM has not officially released BB 10, initial glimpses of the platform have shown improvement.
Linux maintained its small presence in the worldwide smartphone market, thanks in large part to Samsungs continued emphasis on bada.
By the end of the quarter, Samsung accounted for 81.6% of all Linux powered smartphones, a 3.6% share gain versus the prior year period.
Still, Linuxs fortunes are closely tied to Samsungs strategy, which already encompasses Android, Windows Phone, and later this year, Tizen.
Windows Mobile/Windows Phone has yet to make significant inroads in the worldwide smartphone market, but 2012 should be considered a ramp up year for Nokia and Microsoft to boost volumes.
In the past eight years we’ve seen Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and Symbian all dominate the smartphone scene.
Until Nokia speeds the cadence of its smartphone releases or more vendors launch their own Windows Phone powered smartphones, IDC anticipates slow growth for the operating system.
Top Six Smartphone Operating Systems, Shipments, and Market Share, 2012 Q1 (Units in Millions)Mobile OperatingSystem1Q12 UnitShipments1Q12MarketShare1Q11 UnitShipments1Q11MarketShareYear over YearChangeAndroid89.959.0%36.736.1%145.0%iOS35.123.0%18.618.3%88.7%Symbian10.46.8%26.426.0%-60.6%BlackBerry OS9.76.4%13.813.6%-29.7%Linux3.52.3%3.23.1%9.4%Windows Phone7/Windows Mobile3.32.2%2.62.6%26.9%Other0.40.3%0.30.3%33.3%Total152.3100.0%101.6100.0%49.9%Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, May 24, 2012Notes: Smartphone OS shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
In addition to the table above, a graphic showing the relative market shares of the top 6 smartphone operating systems over the previous five quarters is available at IDC.com.
ZTE Corporation is a rapidly growing smartphone manufacturer worldwide and, according to IDC, ZTE became the world’s fourth largest handset maker in the world in Q4 2011 with global market share of 4.9%.
The chart is intended for public use in online news articles and social media.
For more information about IDCs Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, please contact Kathy Nagamine at 650 350 6423 .
About IDCInternational Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.
IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy.
More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide.
For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives.
IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the worlds leading technology media, research, and events company.
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Temeka Berry is a business journalist based in Shanghai, China. Temeka has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Temeka spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
