Android vs. iOS Q3 Shipments: Android Powers 88% Devices, iOS 12%

Android is slowly but steadily snatching global market share from iOS devices. According to a report by Strategy Analytics, 88 percent of all devices shipped in the third quarter of 2016 were powered by Android, while only 12 percent of devices were powered by iOS. In the same quarter last year, 84.1 percent of shipped devices were Android-powered, making it a jump of around 4 percent.

“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,” Woody Oh, director, Strategy Analytics, said.

The report states that Android smartphone shipments clocked in 375.4 million units from June-September compared to last year’s figure of 354.2 million for the same period. Android has had the fastest growth rate in the industry for 2016, due to its increased presence in the Asian, Middle Eastern and African markets. Android’s growth corresponds to the growth of the smartphone industry — as people in markets with low penetration acquiesce smartphones, they are more likely to go in for an Android device rather than one with a rival operating system.

The third quarter of 2016 saw 328.6 million Android smartphones compared to 298 million units in the third quarter of 2015 – a 10.3 percent increase. Unlike Android, iOS device shipments have seen a continuous decline — in 2015 third quarter, 48 million iOS devices were sold compared to 45.5 million in same quarter of 2016 — a decline of 1.5 percent.

But the report also highlighted the challenges Google is expected to face in the coming year — low-profit margins for Android device manufacturers and the company’s own phones such as Google Pixel competing with other Android devices in the market.