The newest IDC numbers are in, and they show that the mobile world has been swept up by Android and iOS, with the former of those two being able to boast as last year’s mobile platform victor. Both Android and iOS have nearly consumed the entire digital world, claiming a place on 96.3-percent of the world’s smartphones (Windows Phone takes up most of the remaining percentage). Android was clearly the champ among them all, with over a billion units shipped over the course of the year and the majority of the market share.
According to IDC, Android shipments were higher over the course of last year than 2013’s combined total shipments. That is a massive number. For the fourth quarter of last year in particular, Android claimed 76.6-percent of market share (in contrast, iOS had 19.7-percent and Windows Phone had 2.8-percent).
Looking at the total numbers for the entire year, Android saw 81.5-percent of the market share, a notable increase over 2013’s 78.7-percent. iOS had 14.8-percent market share for the full year (2014), and Windows Phone had 2.7-percent. Blackberry was the only other mobile platform to be specified (aside from “Others”), and it barely squeaked in with only 0.4-percent.
When looking at Blackberry in particular, a huge drop in shipments took place in 2014 in comparison to 2013, and its market share dropped by more than a factor of four. The numbers show the platform as being on its last leg, while Android and iOS continue to climb and Android in particular gobbles up the mobile market share.
SOURCE: IDC
