Android and Smartphone Platforms

Google Android and Apple are two of the most well known and main platforms. Both combined, these platforms made up 95.7% of smartphone shipments, up from 91.2%. Smartphone shipments had nearly doubled from 17.5 million to 33.4 million between 2012 and 2013. The current market gain in share amounted to 2.4% to 3.3%.

Android is substantial in the mobile platform market. Android surpassed 80 percent market share in the third quarter of 2013 within the mobile OS market. Most of sales were derived from China with Samsung the only non-Chinese vendor for China. Whitebox Yulong was the third largest Android vendor in China. Xiaomi gained 4.3 percent sales.

Organizations use Android mobile platforms to make executive decisions. Internal tools with social media for digital mobile sites such as have allowed organizations to host their profiles, customize social media experiences and engage with customers. Having knowledge of these platforms and the tools offered, being able to adapt to the innovations is a key skill in being able to capitalize on mobile platforms.

The consumer mobile platform market is led by Android and iOS but Microsoft is also poised to gain market share. Microsoft grew 123 percent in the third quarter of 2013. Microsoft also recently announced the possible acquisition of Nokia’s mobile devices and services. The company launched its first touch-based operating system, Windows 8 late last year. But Windows 8 could not provide a positive boost to the PC market.

Google and Apple’s platforms combined had over 90% of market share captured for close to two years. Android OS still remains dominant in the smartphone market. Strong demand for smartphones across all geographies will drive much of this growth as worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to surpass 1 billion units for the first time in a single year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Android OS shares may decline due to market maturity and competition. Google’s Android OS is leading the Android smartphone market. Low cost smartphone device revenues still remain strong in emerging markets.

Dominant smartphone platforms continue to grow. Android powers hundreds of millions of mobile devices in more than 190 countries around the world. It's the largest installed base of any mobile platform and growing fast—every day another million users power up their Android devices for the first time and start looking for apps, games, and other digital content. Android gives users a world-class platform for creating apps and games for Android users everywhere, as well as an open marketplace.