Android and iOS combined for 92.3% of all smartphone shipments during the first quarter of 2013. But the lopsided strength of Android can’t be ignored. Google’s little green robot represented a whopping 75% of this smartphone shipment duopoly, IDC finds.
iOS, on the other hand, was just 17%.
“Underpinning the worldwide smartphone market is the constantly shifting operating system landscape,” explains Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team.
“Android and iOS accounted for more than the lion’s share of smartphones in the first quarter, but a closer examination of the other platforms reveals turnaround and demand for alternatives,” he adds. “Windows Phone has benefited from Nokia’s participation, and BlackBerry’s new BB10 devices have already hit a million units shipped in its first quarter of availability.”
The big story in Wednesday’s IDC’s report, however, that the Windows Phone passed BlackBerry in Q1 smartphone shipments.
“Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia,” says IDC analyst Kevin Restivo. “Given the relatively low volume generated, the Windows Phone camp will need to show further gains to solidify its status as an alternative to Android or iOS.”
