The latest research on mobile device market share shows Android solidifying its dominant position, despite a fourth-quarter flurry of iPhone purchases. Strategy Analytics said that 1 billion Android smartphones shipped last year, vs. 192 million iPhones and roughly 100 million smartphones running other operating systems.
Android is prevalent in emerging economies where the iPhone is out of reach for most consumers. Samsung is the dominant Android vendor, but is rapidly losing market share to smaller rivals. The Korean company’s share of the mobile phone market – smartphones and feature phones – has fallen to 18%, down from 24% a year ago.
Many people in North America think of Apple as the No. 2 mobile phone vendor, behind Samsung, but in fact Apple has only recently moved into that position. During Q4, the 74.5 million iPhones shipped by Apple bested Microsoft’s 50 million Nokia phones shipped. (Microsoft bought Nokia’s device business last year.)
According to Strategy Analytics, this was the first quarter in which Apple outsold Nokia worldwide. In less-developed countries, Nokia feature phones are still very popular and Microsoft has tried to capitalize on that with entry-level Nokia smartphones meant to appeal to first-time smartphone buyers. But so far, Microsoft’s smartphone performance remains anemic. Strategy Analytics said the software giant had just 3% of the smartphone market during 2014.
