Recent reports released by IDC, a technology research firm, showed that Android OS now represents about 75 percent for about 75 percent of the worldwide smartphone industry. Apple may have huge success in the United States and many developed countries, but it only grabs 15 percent of share in the global phone market. Apple is still on the top in terms of individual brand, but the company is being seriously challenged by Samsung with its Galaxy family. Fifteen percent may look like a small amount, but it is significant if we consider that Apple is the sole owner of the iPhone brand.
This situation also occurs in the workstation and PC/laptop market, where Apple is among the best brands in the industry, although Windows OS owns 82 percent of the market. Back to the smartphone market, only Apple and Android recorded double-digit market share and while Android’s share increased for 7 percent in one year, Apple has a much more modest gain of 1 percent. These gains came at the expense of declining mobile platforms, particularly Nokia’s Symbian that fell by 10 percent and RIM’s BlackBerry OS that also fell by 7 percent.
