IDC: Android and iOS Crushed Operating System Competitors In 2014

Android and iOS are squeezing out the competition in the operating system market, jointly making up 96.3 percent of the market share in 2014, according to a recent release by market research firm IDC.

IDC analysts attribute strong end-user demand, refreshed product portfolios and the availability for lower-cost devices to the joint success of both operating system platforms.

"Android's reach extends in so many directions, and that's what helps them," Ramon Llamas, research manager for IDC's Mobile Phone team, told CRN. "It's solidly in the high end with the help of vendors like Samsung, LG and HTC, but also working with vendors like Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi to attack both the high and low end. The other piece of Android's success is that the number of brand partners it has is deeper than that of any other platform."

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Android still takes out 81.5 percent of market share, while iOS falls far behind with 14.8 percent share of shipped devices overall in 2014. But both operating systems crushed competitor Windows Phone, which took 2.7 percent market share, and BlackBerry, which took 0.4 percent.

Android and iOS also saw a substantial amount of growth in their vendor shipments, with Android growing 32 percent and iOS growing 25.6 percent from 2013 to 2014.

Stephen Monteros, vice president of business development and strategic initiatives at SigmaNet, an Ontario, Calif.-based solution provider, which made CRN's 2015 Managed Service Provider 500 List, stated that IDC's data is "unsurprising" based on what he has seen with operating system platforms in his own experience. In particular, he said, Android is strong in the app-development community and will likely continue to grow.

"Android's strength comes in the openness of its system," said Monteros. "A lot of people are drawn to Android, and it's starting to do things around its look and feel, and standardization."

While iOS doesn't have the vendor reach in devices that Android does, Apple's operating system is paying off from the widespread success of its mobile handset shipment volumes, which reached a record 192.7 million. Llamas attributed that success, in part, from market reception to the new, larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

"What it comes down to is that Apple finally got into phablets," he stressed. "Apple has gotten knocked around a little bit for its small screens, so this is a pretty significant area that they didn't reach before."

Meanwhile, BlackBerry's operating system stood as the loser in 2014, as its device shipment declined 69.8 percent from 19.2 million devices in 2013 to 5.8 million devices in 2014. But Llamas noted that the release of the BlackBerry Classic and BlackBerry Passport in the fall could have a positive impact for the smartphone company in the future.

CEO John Chen anticipates 10 million units will be shipped in 2015, returning the company to profitability and marking a 72 percent increase over the 5.8 million units shipped in 2014, according to the IDC report.

"BlackBerry is stepping away from trying to push their devices for the consumer, to going back for the enterprise," said Llamas. "BlackBerry has lost market share, but it's not standing still. It rolled out the BlackBerry Passport and BlackBerry Classic, so it's courting those segments."

While Android and iOS are comfortably seated in the top two positions of the operating system global market, analysts warn that the two companies need to maintain their momentum moving forward.

But Monteros said that while it's hard to predict the future, Android and iOS seem to jointly capture all market needs, both in terms of consumer demand and app development protocols.

"If you look at the operating system space right now, all market needs are [being] met between Android and iOS," he said. "Both systems offer robust platforms for both consumer and business apps, and I can't see an app not being developed on either iOS or Android."

PUBLISHED FEB. 25, 2015