In spite of all of Apple's recent success and the launch of the new batch of iPhones and iPads, Android is still the top dog – and more so now than ever before. Google's semi-open source OS topped out at 81.3 percent of total market share in Q3 according to Strategy Analytics.
Android numbers dug into Apple and Blackberry which both saw significant drops in their market share. Windows Phone remarkably doubled its year-on-year phone activations, making it the fastest growing platform by far. Total smartphone shipments in Q3 alone passed 251 million. Blackberry fell from 4 percent to 1 percent, and Apple dropped from 15.6 percent to 13.4 percent.
These figures are absolutely mind-boggling and prove very well that Android's broader approach appealing to both power users and those in the developing world was a spectacular move. The fact that all smartphone shipments grew almost 50 percent is equally incredible. Smartphones aren't just here to stay; they are, quite clearly, the place to be.
Android's continued growth in terms of share is "unlikely" according to the research firm, however. From their blog post, "Apple also lost some ground to Android because of its limited presence at the lower end of the smartphone market. Android will need to take further shipments from Apple if it wants to keep growing in the future, but this is unlikely in the near-term as the new iPhone 5s model is proving popular and it will help Apple to regain volumes worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2013."
Check out the full results here.
