In the global smartphone operating system market, there are only two players, and it seems that's going to be the case for a while. Android and iOS continue to dominate sales worldwide, squeezing out competitors from gaining a significant chunk of the market.
Smartphones running on Google and Apple's operating systems accounted for 96.4% of the total number of units shipped around the world, as the two companies continue to eat into the share of smaller competitors.
According to International Data Corporation's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Tracker, the two operating systems gained more ground as the market for smartphones expanded worldwide. During the second quarter of 2014, the number of phones shipped around the world breached the 300 million mark for the very first time. Smartphone vendors shipped 301.3 million devices for the quarter, up 25.3 percent from the 240.5 million units that were shipped during the same period last year. This means that increased demand around the world further strengthened dominant operating systems rather than boosted smaller players.
While the global smartphone operating system tussle only has two significant players, it's still really a one-horse race. Android dominated all competitors by reaching a new record for market share. The company's share grew to 84.7 percent, nearly double what it had two years ago. Samsung remains the largest seller of smartphones running the OS. The company accounted for 29.3 percent of Android shipments, down from 40 percent two years ago. According to IDC, Lenovo, Xiaomi, LG, Coolpad, Huawei and ZTE are caught in a fierce battle for second place.
"With many of its OEM partners focusing on the sub-$200 segments, Android has been reaping huge gains within emerging markets," Ramon Llamas, Research Manager for IDC's Mobile Phone team, said in a press release. "During the second quarter, 58.6% of all Android smartphone shipments worldwide cost less than $200 off contract, making them very attractive compared to other devices. With the recent introduction of Android One, in which Google offers reference designs below $100 to Android OEMs, the proportion of sub-$200 volumes will climb even higher."
Apple's iOS, on the other hand, had an 11.7 percent market share for the period. The figure represents the company's lowest quarterly volume for the year.
Android's dominance has left weaker competitors scrambling for crumbs. Windows Phone accounted for just 2.5 percent while Blackberry cornered 0.5 percent.
