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Android commands over 86 per cent of the smartphone market

by Mark Tyson on 22 August 2016, 14:01

Tags: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung (005935.KS)

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The latest figures showing smartphone manufacturer and OS market share show Samsung as the biggest player by far, and Android with a commanding lead - accounting for over 86 per cent of phones sold worldwide in Q2 2016. In related news, later today it is expected that Android 7.0 Nougat is coming out of its developer preview stage and will be available to some Nexus device users.

Android market share

In the most recent figures from Gartner, Android is seen to have clawed back market share from Apple's iOS. Google's mobile OS has 86.2 per cent of the worldwide market and has grown in lower-, mid- and high-end tiers. Most impressively, premium smartphones sold with Android were up 6.5 per cent in Q2.

An analyst at Gartner put Google Android's success down to how fast the platform is evolving. "Facing a highly commoditized smartphone market, Google's focus is to further expand and diversify the Android platform with additional functionalities, like virtual reality, enabling more-intelligent experiences and reach into wearables, connected home devices, in-car entertainment and TV," explained Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.

With Android doing well, it's not a great surprise that Samsung is also thriving. In the latest Q2 results we can see Samsung had a near 10 per cent lead over nearest rival Apple. Notably all the other members of the top 5 manufacturers are Chinese (Android) smartphone makers; Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi. As for Apple, it suffered a decline of 7.7 per cent in Q2 2016, faring particularly badly in Asia/Pacific with sales down by more than a quarter.

Android 7.0 Nougat

When the USA wakes up we will likely see some kind of launch event for Android 7.0 Nougat. According to various reports, including this one from Android Authority, the consumer ready Android 7.0 Nougat will be released today for Nexus users, rolling out to other device makers and networks in the weeks and months to come.

Key improvements on the way to version 7.0 of this mobile OS are said to include better power efficiency (improved Doze), improved memory management (Project Svelte), Data Saver, improved DPI scaling, a night mode, and Java 8 support. Keep an eye on the Android home page for highlights and more details if you are interested.



HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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Android master race!
Regardless, lets see how much profit Apple leverages out of that 13%………
“Android commands over 86 per cent of the smartphone market”

… and yet it requires a hefty ish spec to work smoothly along with insane amounts of ram. The OS reminds me of Windows Mobile 6.5 and, the moment you remove the phone from the box, you have to do the usual thing of Force stopping and removing X or Y.

The perfect phone for the mass market. Most people don't even know that they have Android, “My Samsung” etc. iOS offers nothing new, Windows Mobile is pretty much dead (Shame) so we're left with Android.

Oh well.
excalibur1814
“Android commands over 86 per cent of the smartphone market”

… and yet it requires a hefty ish spec to work smoothly along with insane amounts of ram. The OS reminds me of Windows Mobile 6.5 and, the moment you remove the phone from the box, you have to do the usual thing of Force stopping and removing X or Y.

…….

Oh well.

Compared to what though, re the insane amount of ram & heftyish spec???? Yes my OnePlus 3 has an insane amount ram but it doesn't use anything like all of it or most of the time even half of it. The Nexus 5X only has 2Gb of ram & absolutely flies on Marshmallow and Mediatek chipsets are hardly hefty and yet my sons Umi Super runs like a dream. Yes I admit I'm a bit of an android fanboy but following the terminal demise of Windows Mobile, as you say, what else is there, besides the dreaded iOS

PS I loved Windows Mobile in the begining but MS's failure to promote, develop & support it sufficiently was criminal. Actually thinking about Win Mobile 7 & 8 could run on pretty paltry specs, so compared to that yes Android is a bit of a resource hog. :)
excalibur1814
“Android commands over 86 per cent of the smartphone market”

… and yet it requires a hefty ish spec to work smoothly along with insane amounts of ram. The OS reminds me of Windows Mobile 6.5 and, the moment you remove the phone from the box, you have to do the usual thing of Force stopping and removing X or Y.

The perfect phone for the mass market. Most people don't even know that they have Android, “My Samsung” etc. iOS offers nothing new, Windows Mobile is pretty much dead (Shame) so we're left with Android.

Oh well.

Who says Android requires any hefty spec or RAM to work? So many third world country consumers are using entry level Android phones with less RAM and older components than the pathetic over-priced fruit phones. The foreign odd job labourers working in my country (& yr neighbourhood) are testament to that - it is often their only means of free/cheap entertainment & communication with family halfway across the world.

Get some basic knowledge before you whine & moan.