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A record 99.9 percent of smartphones sold worldwide last year were based on either Android or iOS, as all competing platforms have effectively been squeezed out, according to data shared today by research firm Gartner.

blackberry-ios-android-iphone-galaxy-samsung.jpg

Android remains more widely adopted than iOS by a significant margin, with a roughly 86-14 percent split between the respective operating systems last year. Android's dominance is unsurprising given the software is installed on dozens of different smartphone models offered at a range of price points, whereas the iPhone primarily caters to the high-end market.

Android and iOS have been the leading mobile operating systems for many years now, but the duopoly became so dominant last year that Gartner doesn't even break out BlackBerry and Windows Phone individually anymore. Together, the platforms accounted for less than 0.1 percent market share in 2017.

gartner-mobile-os-2017.jpg

For perspective, Gartner estimates that of the just over 1.5 billion smartphones sold worldwide last year, handsets running BlackBerry OS, Windows Mobile, and all other platforms made up only 1.5 million of the total.

The writing has long been on the wall for BlackBerry and Windows Phone, which have been ceding market share to Apple and Google for the better part of the last decade. But with Android and iOS finally reaching 99.9 percent market share, it looks like the platforms will be officially dead soon enough.

In the meantime, BlackBerry recently announced it will continue to support its BlackBerry 10 operating system for at least two more years, but it encourages customers to upgrade to its Android-based smartphones manufactured by TCL. BlackBerry World and other legacy services will shut down by the end of 2019.

Back in October, Microsoft likewise announced that it will continue to support Windows 10 Mobile with security updates and bug fixes, but it will no longer develop new features or release any new Windows Phones.

The fall of BlackBerry in particular is remarkable given it was the pioneer of the smartphone industry. Its devices actually continued to grow in popularity for around two years after the iPhone launched in June 2007, at the expense of then-leading Nokia, with a peak market share of around 20 percent in 2009.

It only took a few years until the surging popularity of iPhones and Samsung Galaxy smartphones led iOS and Android to leapfrog BlackBerry and Nokia, and based on today's data, the duopoly is now firmly entrenched.

Article Link: iPhone and Android Duopoly Nears Peak With Estimated 99.9% Market Share Last Year
 

mtneer

macrumors 68040
Sep 15, 2012
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Does Gartner also consider resale or previously owned devices? More resilient iPhones may have longer second lives as hand me downs which can increase its marketshare beyond what is reflected in initial sales numbers.
 

hotdwag

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2016
49
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Well I still have a Palm Pre and a Windows Phone... I'll just turn those on to skew the results a bit.

But a duopoly might not be the right word since Android has multiple custom skins and tweaks based on companies... and isn't necessarily vanilla android at all. though as a core OS it makes sense.
 
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sinsin07

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2009
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October 19, 2010

We’ve now passed RIM. And I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future. They must move beyond their area of strength and comfort, into the unfamiliar territory of trying to become a software platform company. I think it’s going to be a challenge for them to create a competitive platform and to convince developers to create apps for yet a third software platform after iOS and Android”.

Steve Jobs

Steve Balmer on iPhone:

Case closed.
 

69Mustang

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Jan 7, 2014
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Does Gartner also consider resale or previously owned devices? More resilient iPhones may have longer second lives as hand me downs which can increase its marketshare beyond what is reflected in initial sales numbers.
They only consider yearly new sales. I don't think there are any analytics that factor used phones. There really isn't a reason to include used phones.
 
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jadot

macrumors 6502a
Apr 6, 2010
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UK
It's a shame. I like Blackberry devices, but even running android they're not likely to find their way into people's lives. The OS rules and coupled with the deep integration with the hardware the iPhone is fairly hard to beat. If Apple could find a way to bring that price down they'd be able to take on the larger android market dominance.
Still - as high end goes it's the iPhone for me. Would like to see a broader range of devices though.
 

b11051973

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Apr 8, 2006
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What is the profit percentage? Does Apple still make the majority of profits in the smartphone business?
 

Avieshek

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Dec 7, 2013
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Should actually check out by custom Android OEM distribution like TouchWiz, MIUI etc
 
Last edited:

jayducharme

macrumors 601
Jun 22, 2006
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The thick of it
It really is amazing to me that both MS and Blackberry, once the presumed titans of mobile, now represent less than a COMBINED .1% of the market. Changes in technology can be like a virtual hurricane, altering the landscape in seemingly the blink of an eye. Apple and Google apparently were the only companies prepared for it. (Or maybe Apple itself was the hurricane.)
 

69Mustang

macrumors 604
Jan 7, 2014
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In between a rock and a hard place
What is the profit percentage? Does Apple still make the majority of profits in the smartphone business?
Here are some of those reports. You typically don't find the profit info in the OS market share reports.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckj...ne-dominates-smartphone-profits/#1b0ed145bf8c

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...hile-samsung-sat-in-apples-shadow-at-129.html

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a...fell-in-third-quarter-analysts-say-2017-12-27
 

falainber

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Mar 16, 2016
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Wild West
Does Gartner also consider resale or previously owned devices? More resilient iPhones may have longer second lives as hand me downs which can increase its marketshare beyond what is reflected in initial sales numbers.

"More resilient iPhones"? Did you see the news about the iPhone 6 (and later) battery debacle?Resilient phones keep working past 18 months.
 
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Apache1

macrumors member
May 11, 2017
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It looks like there is more market share to gain but what Android's share has is not willing to pay premium prices for a iPhone.
 

JediZenMaster

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Mar 28, 2010
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Seattle
October 19, 2010

We’ve now passed RIM. And I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future. They must move beyond their area of strength and comfort, into the unfamiliar territory of trying to become a software platform company. I think it’s going to be a challenge for them to create a competitive platform and to convince developers to create apps for yet a third software platform after iOS and Android”.

Steve Jobs

Steve Balmer on iPhone:

Case closed.

So true and Apple can show lots of receipts.
 

IJ Reilly

macrumors P6
Jul 16, 2002
17,909
1,496
Palookaville
Rhetorical point: A thing can't be said to have "peaked" unless it reaches a level and then goes down. The term was used correctly in the article where it referred to Blackberry's market share topping out in 2009, but not in the headline. The two OSs have reached a combined 99.9% market share, but they have not peaked at that level.
 
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