Figures show that the lead held by Android is continuing to grow within this competitive marketplace.
According to some of the most recent IDC reports, the mobile device shipments in the smartphone market during the second quarter of 2014 reached a record breaking 301.3 million.
These sales figures were given a considerable boost by the Android based devices sold for less than $200.
At the moment, Android smartphones under that price limit have given the operating system a considerable boost in its popularity. That O.S. now holds 84.7 percent of the smartphone market, said the International Data Corporation (IDC) report. In second place is Apple’s iOS, which now retains 11.7 percent of the shipments. Android saw a considerable surge in growth within emerging markets.
Of the total devices shipped in the smartphone market, Android made up 255.3 million.
That represents 84.7 percent of the total shipments during the second quarter and it also means that Android saw a gain of a tremendous 33.3 percent over what it had experienced in the same time period during 2013. When compared to the second quarter in 2011, its share has almost doubled.
When looking at Apple’s statistics, the mobile device manufacturer shipped 35.2 million smartphones during that quarter, this year. This was an increase of 12.7 percent over the same time period in 2013, but at the same time, it also represented a drop of 1.3 percent in its share of this market. That said, this figure could change in later quarters of this year as it is widely believed that the company will be introducing its iPhone 6 well before 2014 comes to a close.
The higher cost of the
IDC research manager with the Mobile Phone team, Ramon Llamas, discussed the smartphone market report, saying that “During the second quarter, 58.6% of all Android smartphone shipments worldwide cost less than $200 off contract, making them very attractive compared to other devices.” Google’s proportion of the sub $200 market is only expected to grow now that it’s Android One has been introduced, with designs under $100.
