Top smartphone operating systems in Q2
Android and iOS continue to dominate the smartphone operating system environment, while BlackBerry and Nokia’s Symbian shed marketshare, according to the latest Q2 stats from the International Data Corporation.
The IDC has released figures from its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
Android and iOS powered 85% of all smartphones shipped in the second quarter of 2012 (2Q12), the IDC reported, establishing a new combined high for the mobile operating systems from Google and Apple.
Meanwhile, two operating systems which once pioneered the smartphone market – BlackBerry and Nokia’s Symbian – both saw their market shares fall below 5%.
According to theIDC report, Android’s success in getting 68.1% of the OS marketshare is thanks in great part to Samsung, which accounted for 44% of Android smartphones.
Trailing in the number two spot, significantly behind Android is Apple’s iOS, which the IDC said has increased it’s marketshare from the same period last year – but ahead of the rumoured reveal of iPhone 5, things have cooled off for the company.
BlackBerry and Symbian, which sunk to single-digit market share percentages in 2Q12, owe the decline to their parent companies’ respective strategies regarding the operating systems.
Nokia’s decision to move to Windows Phone 7 for their flagship smartphone devices accelerated Symbian’s decline, while RIM has lost market to the competition on the backdrop of BlackBerry 10’s delay.
“The mobile OS market is now unquestionably a two-horse race due to the dominance of Android and iOS,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
“With much of the world’s mobile phone user base still operating feature phones, the smartphone OS market share battle is far from over. There is still room for some mobile OS competitors to gain share, although such efforts will become increasingly difficult as smartphone penetration increases.”
Top Smartphone Operating Systems, Shipments, and Market Share, Q2 2012
| Operating system | 2Q12 Units* | Market Share | 2Q11 Units* | Market Share | 2Q12/2Q11 change |
| Android | 104.8 | 68.1% | 50.8 | 46.9% | 106.5% |
| iOS | 26.0 | 16.9% | 20.4 | 18.8% | 27.5% |
| BlackBerry OS | 7.4 | 4.8% | 12.5 | 11.5% | -40.9% |
| Symbian | 6.8 | 4.4% | 18.3 | 16.9% | -62.9% |
| Windows Phone 7 / Windows Mobile | 5.4 | 3.5% | 2.5 | 2.3% | 115.3% |
| Linux | 3.5 | 2.3% | 3.3 | 3.0% | 6.3% |
| Others | 0.1 | 0.1% | 0.6 | 0.5% | -80.0% |
| Grand Total | 154.0 | 100.0% | 108.3 | 100.0% | 42.2% |
*Units in millions
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