Latest device sales forecast from Gartner Inc. should make Google grin from ear to ear.
This year, for the very first time, Android devices are going to weave their way to the hands of more than 1 billion people. According to Gartner, Android operating system will take a jump of 26 percent compared to last year, totalling to 1.1 billion users across all device types.
iOS and Mac OS devices, on the other hand, will be witnessing even more rise in sales. The research firm projected that in 2014, 344 million Apple devices will be sold compared to 267 million devices in 2013, which is a jump by 29 percent.
"There is no doubt that there is a volume versus value equation, with Android users also purchasing lower-cost devices compared with Apple users," Gartner principal analyst Annette Zimmerman said in a statement.
"Android holds the largest number of installed-base devices, with 1.9 billion in use in 2014, compared with 682 million iOS and Mac OS installed-base devices," she added.
According to Gartner, more than 75 percent of Android shipments are expected from the emerging markets by 2017 where people are inclining more towards low cost and smaller devices.
Windows-based mobiles and PCs will touch 360 million mark, which is just 16 million more than predicted sales of iOS and Mac devices. Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner said Apple should be able to catch up with Microsoft "within a couple of years."
"Apple continues to gain share fairly quickly and Microsoft, despite moving into other areas, is not compensating for the decline of the traditional market," he added.
Sales of ill-fated traditional desktop and PCs will continue to decline. Gartner predicted that this year only 278 million units will be sold, which is a 7 percent decline compared to last year.
In sum, worldwide combined sales of devices that includes PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones will reach 2.5 billion units this year, a 7.6 percent increase from 2013, Gartner predicted.
