Smartphones powered by Google's
Android software increased their global
market share as iPhones lost ground in
the absence of new models being
unleashed by Apple, the International
Data Corporation reported Wednesday.
Android's share of the smartphone
market grew to 79.3 percent in the
second quarter while that of iPhone
slipped to 13.2 percent from 16.6
percent in the same three-month
period last year, according to IDC
figures.
"The iOS decline in the second quarter
aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone,"
said IDC mobile phone research team
manager Ramon Llamas, referring to
the software platform on which the
Apple handsets are built.
"Without a new product launch since
the debut of the iPhone 5 nearly a
year ago, Apple's market share was
vulnerable to product launches from
the competition."
Apple is "well positioned" to recapture
market share with the release later
this year of a new iPhone and the
next-generation iOS mobile operating
system, according to Llamas.
IDC reported that 187 million Android-
powered smartphones were shipped in
the second quarter of the year as
compared to 31.2 million iPhones.
Smartphones powered by Microsoft
Windows software showed the biggest
jump, hitting 3.7-percent of the
market in a 77.6 percent rise that
"re-enforced" the mobile platform's
third-place position, according to IDC.
The gain was driven by Nokia, which
released hot new Windows smartphones
and accounted for just shy of 82
percent of the 8.7 million Windows
phones shipped worldwide during the
quarter.
"Last quarter we witnessed Windows
Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry
and the trend has continued into the
second quarter," said IDC mobility
tracker program manager Ryan Reith.
"Nokia has clearly been the driving
force behind the Windows Phone
platform, and we expect that to
continue."
Ailing Blackberry saw its share of the
global smartphone market shrink to 2.9
percent from 4.9 percent in the second
quarter last year, IDC reported.
A total of 236.4 million smartphones
were shipped during the quarter in a
51.3 percent rise from the 156.2 million
shipped in the same period a year
earlier, according to IDC.
Android retained its crown as the top
smartphone platform in the United
States in the quarter with 59 percent
of the market, the same as the prior
quarter, a report released Tuesday by
comScore indicated.
California-based Apple remained the
most popular smartphone maker in US
and its share of that market was up
slightly to 39.9 percent from the first
three months of this year, according
to comScore.
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