Android breaks free: One step closer to world domination
Google’s pursuit of mobile world domination is coming along nicely, with the latest data from UK-based tech analyst Kantar Group showing that Android has made even more inroads into the US and other markets. Apple’s hold over its fanbois is slowly slipping, while Windows Phone’s growth seems to have stalled in 2014.
The findings aren’t all that surprising. High street stores across the world are awash with Android devices of all shapes and sizes, and Apple refuses to compete in the extremely massive lower-end market. There’s also the huge amount of pre-publicity surrounding the all-new iPhone 6, set to launch in a few weeks, that’s probably put off many a fanboi from buying just yet.
As far as Windows Phone is concerned, its biggest problem is there’s been hardly any new products released this year. Device makers have been patiently waiting for the launch of Windows Phone 8.1 before releasing their products, and the new Nokia Lumia 630 only began shipping in June, which means its’ sales data barely figures yet.
Android’s dominance is best illustrated in the US, where it has always faced strong competition from Apple. It’s market share increased by 11.4 percent year-on-year and is now running on 62.9 percent of all smartphones in the country. Interestingly, iOS’ share fell by almost the same amount – 11.8 percent, which could possibly indicate that a lot of people are swapping out their iPhones for something else. Windows Phone didn’t figure much better – its share has slipped from an all-time high of 5.3 percent in February 2014 to just 3.8 percent now.
Image credit: Kantar
Of course the US isn’t the only market that matters. Europe is vitally important too, and Android happens to be even stronger there. It’s share rose by 4 percent to 75.1 percent, largely at the expense of phones in the “other” category, from which we might assume there’s a whole lot less BlackBerry users in Europe these days. Still, Windows Phone is doing a bit better in the EU, attaining a ‘whopping’ 16.1 percent market share in Italy, and 10.1 percent share in the UK.
For a closer look at how the world’s mobile arena is shaping up, head on over to Kantar’s slidey interactive map here.
photo credit: Iwan Gabovitch via photopin cc
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