Google Android reigns supreme with 87.5 percent marketshare

A new report by Strategy Analytics found that Google's Android operating system strengthened its dominant position in the mobile operating system market in Q3 2016. Android gained at the expense of all other platforms, it's now found on 87.5 percent of new smartphones. Apple is a distant second with 12.1 percent of the market running on iOS, while all other mobile operating systems account for a mere 0.3 percent.

A total of 375.4 million smartphones were sold in Q3 2016, a 6.0 percent increase versus the same period in 2015. Sales of Android devices rose 10.3 percent to 328.6 percent, while iPhone sales fell 5.2 percent to 45.5 million units.

All other operating systems don't stand a chance versus the dominance of Android. The rest of the market accounted for just 1.3 million units in Q3 2016, down a massive 84.1 percent versus the 8.2 million units in Q3 2015.

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “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. 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.” Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Android’s leadership of the global smartphone market looks unassailable at the moment. Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide. However, several challenges remain for Google. The Android platform is getting overcrowded with hundreds of manufacturers, few Android device vendors make profits, and Google’s new Pixel range is attacking its own hardware partners that made Android popular in the first place.”

Via: BusinessWire.