Android and iOS have been neck and neck battling for the title of “leading smartphone OS” for years now, but this month’s numbers don’t suggest a tight competition whatsoever. In the first quarter of 2013, Android-powered smartphones accounted for about 75% of all smartphones sold in this time-frame. Apple’s iOS came far behind, selling only 18.2% worth of the market share. Surprisingly the failing RIM (Blackberry) was able to outsell Microsoft’s Windows 8 Phones by 0.1%. It isn’t a big difference, but that’s definitely saying something about Microsoft’s success in the smartphone market.
Perhaps the most interesting of all this is that Android’s flagship for the year, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 hasn’t even been released yet. Android’s dominance over the market is expected to surpass that of 75% in Q2 2013.
Of course quarter-based numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt, because timing is indeed everything. Because a new iPhone hasn’t been released since last September and Androids are released with the newest technology seemingly every week, it is pretty much expected that Android rules the market. It’ll definitely be interesting to see these market share numbers following the release of the highly anticipated iPhone 5S or iPhone 6.
Source: Gartner
Come comment on this article: Smartphone sales in Q1 2013 great for Android, amasses whopping 75% of market share