Android powers 75% of smartphones in Q3

Android powers 75% of smartphones in Q3

SAN FRANCISCO—Google Inc.'s Android operating systems was found on three of every four smartphones shipped in the third quarter, according to International Data Corp. (IDC).

Four years since the first Android-powered smartphones hit store shelves, Android has risen rapidly to become far-and-away the dominant OS in smartphones. Apple Inc.'s iOS, which runs the company's line of iPhones, was a distant second in the third quarter with 15 percent market share, according to IDC.

According to IDC, the number of Android-powered smartphones in the third quarter reached 136 million units, up 92 percent from the third quarter of 2011. Android's market share increased from 58 percent in the third quarter of 2011, IDC said.

"Android has been one of the primary growth engines of the smartphone market since it was launched in 2008," said Ramon Llamas, research manager for mobile phones at IDC, in a statement. "In every year since then, Android has effectively outpaced the market and taken market share from the competition."


Click on image to enlarge.Top six smartphone mobile operating systems, shipments, and market share, Q3 2012, in millions of units (preliminary).
Source: IDC

TAG:Android OS Smartphone IDC iOS Google