Three-quarters of all smartphones in the world run on Google’s Android operating system. This is evident from figures published by research firm IDC. Apple, with the iPhone, holds a 14.9 percent market share.
IDC’s figures relate to the third quarter of 2012, a period that the research firm says was particularly positive for Google. In just three months, 136 million Android devices were sold. “This is more than total smartphone sales in 2007,” according to IDC’s report.
In the third quarter of 2011, Android still had a market share of 57.5 percent. According to IDC, the strong growth to 75 percent in 2012 is largely due to the successful Galaxy devices launched by Samsung.
Apple
Apple’s iOS is in second place, albeit at a considerable distance. The iPhone grew by 0.9 percentage points to a market share of 14.9 percent. However, IDC’s figures cover July, August and September, which means the new iPhone 5 is not yet included. The new Apple handset sold 5 million units in its first weekend.
As expected, BlackBerry also saw its market share decline further in the past quarter, from 9.5 to 4.3 percent. The absence of new smartphones appears to be the main cause. The Symbian OS also fell sharply (from 14.6 to 2.3 percent), now that manufacturer Nokia is fully committing to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8.
Windows Phone
Windows Phone was the only operating system besides Android and iOS to gain market share, albeit modestly. While Microsoft held a 1.2 percent share a year earlier, Windows Phone grew to 2.0 percent in the past quarter. Microsoft and Nokia expect to capture a substantial market share in the fourth quarter with the new Windows Phone 8.