IDC: Android market share grows to 78 percent

About 78 percent of smartphones sold worldwide in the last months of 2013 ran on Android. Market research agency IDC has calculated this. The market share of Android and Windows Phone increased, that of iOS and BlackBerry slumped.

Apple sold slightly more iPhones than in the same period last year, according to IDC, but because the total number of smartphones sold increased much faster, the iPhone’s market share fell from 20.9 percent to 17.6 percent. Nearly 96 percent of smartphones sold ran Android or iOS, making the two operating systems even more dominant in the final months of 2013.

Within Android, Samsung was the clear leader, but according to IDC, Huawei was the worldwide number two. In total, that places Huawei in the coveted third place. IDC does point out that after the Motorola acquisition, Lenovo would claim that spot.

Windows Phone saw its market share rise, but the 0.4 percentage point increase to 3 percent is anything but spectacular. IDC estimates that Nokia accounts for more than 90 percent of Windows Phone sales. Microsoft will acquire Nokia in a few months. BlackBerry’s market share has fallen below 1 percent, according to the market research firm.

There are several analyst firms that estimate sales in the smartphone market. Because not all manufacturers provide figures and because manufacturers do not break down sales by operating system, analysts’ estimates provide the only basis for making estimates of sales and market shares. In addition to IDC, Gartner, Canalys and Strategy Analytics make estimates about the smartphone market.