Android And iOS Dominate Smartphone Market As Windows Phone Slumps

Apple’s decline has contributed to Android regaining share over iOS in the operating system market. Android captured an 86.2 per cent share of the market in the quarter, while Android and iOS (12.9 per cent) captured over 99 per cent of the market.

Windows Phone, meanwhile, has slumped to a 0.6 per cent market share.

Gartner states that Android’s performance was boosted by demand for mid-to-lower-end smartphones in emerging markets, while premium smartphones also recorded a 6.5 per cent increase in the quarter as key Android players, including Samsung with its Galaxy S7, introduced new high-end devices.

Chinese brands including Huawei and Oppo also are “pushing their premium smartphone ranges with more affordable devices”, Gartner notes.

“Facing a highly commoditised smartphone market, Google’s focus is to further expand and diversify the Android platform with additional functionalities, like virtual reality, enabling more-intelligent experiences and reach into wearables, connected home devices, in-car entertainment and TV.”

In terms of smartphone sales, Samsung led the way, commanding a 22.3 per cent market share, growing unit sales by 6.5 per cent, with Gartner noting Samsung’s Galaxy A and Galaxy J series smartphones sales competed strongly with Chinese manufacturers, while its new portfolio also helped win back share recently lost in emerging markets.

Apple, meanwhile, continued its downward trend, with a unit sales decline of 7.7 per cent in the quarter, capturing a 12.9 per cent market share, ranked in second position, followed by Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi (see table below).