Once upon a time, the smartphone market used to be open to several different players. There were different phones and different operating systems and each managed to coexist with the other, happy in the niche it had carved for itself.
Today, what we see is a duopoly — a market dominated by two major players. No points for guessing who they are. Android and iOS, both giants in their own right, have seized control of practically the entire smartphone industry, new data reveals.
Gartner, a market research and analysis firm, released the following data for the smartphone market this year.
Together, iOS and Android are running a whopping 99.1% of the entire smartphone market!!
A share of over 99 % is nothing short of an absolute shocker! However, that’s the combined effort. When individually examined, we come across a darker picture for us Apple lovers.
iOS loses market share, while Android continues to dominate.
In comparison to last year, Apple lost nearly two percentage points from its overall share. The slide down from 14.6 % to just a little under 13% has been a major cause of worry for Tim Cook in the past few months. And that slump is prominently seen as declining sales and profits for Apple.
When you add to that Android’s gain of 4 percentage points from last year, it means that every other player in the market has all but been obliterated. Any ground that Apple wants to gain has to come directly from Android’s share.
Which brings us to the next point: How powerful is Apple and Android’s hold over their respective markets? This is where Apple can breathe a bit, because when it comes to exploiting a closed ecosystem, there’s no beating Apple.
The iPhone maker has a phenomenal grip over its market. Android, not so much.
Apple closely controls its software upgrades and list of compatible devices, giving it a rare advantage over Android. For example, 87% of all iOS devices are already running the latest iOS 9.
Similar behaviour isn’t reflected among Android users, most of whom rarely consider upgrading phones in the traditional sense, i.e., going to the next version of the same model.
For example, if you have a OnePlus One and want to change phones, you’re more likely to go to a Samsung Note perhaps, than a OnePlus Two. Or any other from the hundreds of brands and models available. The incredible choice of devices, however, is double-edged sword – a boon as well as a bane.
A vast majority of Android devices haven’t yet upgraded to their latest version. In fact, their most recent upgrade, Android Marshmallow, is only being used an abysmal 15% of users!
This is a real setback for Android. 85% of their users are not getting the best they have to offer. They’re losing out on the best features and services. Essentially, more than 4 out of every 5 Android user is using a marginalised phone!
The bottom line
In terms of sheer numbers, Android is miles, miles ahead of iOS. Should we ever dream of a day when iOS catches up with Android, it’s not going to be in the foreseeable future. However, the painful truth is that iOS is never going to be able to close that gap.
However, it does crush Android in terms of revenue. What Google manages to earn with its 87% market share, Apple raises without any effort at all; that too, with just a fraction of the market share. Imagine how much richer Tim Cook would be if he had even 50% of the smartphone market to himself!
Dreams aside, Android lovers can rejoice in that they’re part of the leading pack. Apple isn’t the absolute king. But then again, when you really think things over, neither is Android!