Android finally overtakes iOS in terms of mobile usage, according to data collected by Net Applications.
The mobile usage statistic refers to the usage of the mobile devices with the respective mobile operating systems.
Android has long been the leader in mobile market share, which is the statistic that measures how many devices have the operating system installed. Android owns 85 percent of market share, according to a study by Strategy Analytic.
The study also reported Android smartphone shipments worldwide to have reached 295 million units in the second quarter of this year, representing a 27 percent increase from the 233 million units shipped in the same quarter last year.
"Like the PC market, Android is on the verge of turning smartphone platforms into a one-horse race. Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain wildly attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide," said Strategy Analytics executive director Neil Mawston.
However, Android devices have not overtaken iOS devices in terms of mobile usage, despite having more devices using the operating system, until now.
Android's lead over iOS is only by the slimmest of margins at 0.43%. As per Net Applications, mobile usage of Android increased from 43.75% in June to 44.62% in July, while mobile usage of iOS decreased from 45.61% in June to 44.19% in July.
With the huge lead of Android-based devices over iOS devices in terms of shipments, it was just a matter of time before Android mobile usage overtook iOS mobile usage.
The decline of iOS usage to the second spot may not be long-lived though, as Apple is expected to be releasing the iPhone 6 soon, along with the next-generation iPad which is rumored to have a Touch ID sensor.
The anticipation for the next-generation iPad may be one of the factors in the declining iPad sales, which would have contributed to the lower overall iOS mobile usage. However, despite the sales decline in iPad tablets, Apple CEO Tim Cook is confident that the company's recently forged partnership with IBM will increase iPad sales.
Apple's partnership with IBM looks to increase enterprise market penetration for the iPad, as Apple only has a 20 percent market penetration rate for businesses. Cook is confident that this will allow the company to bounce back from the iPad shipment total of 13.3 million units for the second quarter, which is a million units less than the figure reported in the second quarter of last year.
According to Net Applications, Windows Phone mobile usage comes in at only 2.49% for July, but is an increase from the 1.99% reported in June. Blackberry mobile usage, on the other hand, comes in at only 1.21% for the month.
