Andre Yoskowitz
3 Aug 2013 11:09
According to Strategy Analytics' latest figures, Google has run away with the smartphone market with Android now on 80 percent of all devices.
"Global smartphone shipments grew 47 percent annually from 156.5 million units in Q2 2012 to 229.6 million in Q2 2013. Growth was driven by strong demand for Android models across all price-tiers in developed and developing markets, such as the US, China and Brazil. Android now accounts for an impressive 8 in 10 of all smartphones shipped on the planet," said Scott Bicheno, Senior Analyst.
A year ago, Android was on 70 percent of devices, so growth has been clearly accelerating.
Moving down the line, Apple's iOS remains entrenched in second, although share fell to 13.6 percent. Windows Phone increased slightly to 3.9 percent while all others (including BlackBerry) took the remaining 3 percent.
What can Microsoft do? Linda Sui, Analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, "Microsoft is making steady progress in the smartphone market due to strong support from Nokia. However, we believe Microsoft's WP8 platform still needs to improve in at least two areas before it truly takes off. First, the license fee charged to smartphone makers for WP8 must be more competitive to compete with Android in lower price-bands. And second, Microsoft must dramatically accelerate its support for advanced technologies, such as octo-core chipsets, because WP8 continues to lag behind Android in the premium smartphone category."