It’s no surprise that Apple and Google dominate the smartphone world, but the actual figures are staggering.
Collectively, iOS and Android devices made up 96.8% of devices sold in the second quarter of 2015.
That means Windows, BlackBerry, Firefox OS, Sailfish OS, and others were left clinging onto just 3.2% of the remaining market share, according to new data released by technology analysis firm Gartner.
Android was by far the biggest player in the market, claiming four out of every five sales at 82.2% share.
Apple’s iOS came in second at 14.6%. That might seem paltry by comparison, but don’t forget that iOS only appears on iPhones, whereas Android exists on devices from countless third-party manufacturers.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone was third with a a decidedly lowly 2.5% share.
However, Microsoft may see a pick-up in the coming months as Windows 10 Mobile is expected to launch this autumn.
By the grace of some unknown force,
Then there’s “others”, which fills the remaining 0.4% gap in smartphone market share for last quarter.
But how is the state of smartphone manufacturing in 2015? Not great unfortunately, as the research reveals the slowest growth rate in sales since 2013.
Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users totaled 330 million units, which is up 13.5 per cent on the same period last year.
According to the resarch, the biggest problem for the market is declining growth in China.
“China is the biggest country for smartphone sales, representing 30% of total sales of smartphones in the second quarter of 2015. Its poor performance negatively affected the performance of the mobile phone market in the second quarter,” explains Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner.
He continues: “China has reached saturation – its phone market is essentially driven by replacement, with fewer first-time buyers. Beyond the lower-end phone segment, the appeal of premium smartphones will be key for vendors to attract upgrades and to maintain or grow their market share in China.”
Related: Best Smartphones 2015
South Korea’s Samsung is still the dominant smartphone vendor globally, laying claim to 21.9% of handsets sold last quarter.
Apple ranks second with 14.6%, Huawei third at 7.8%, and Lenovo/Motorola fourth at 5.0%.
Xiaomi took fifth place thanks to its eastern success with 4.9%, so the usual players are still dominating the market.
Where does your smartphone allegiance lie? Let us know in the comments.
Check out our smartphone group test video below:
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
