Apple iOS and Google Android make for 92% of smartphones in 2012

It's a bi-polar world out there when it comes to smartphones, and Apple and Google rule with their iOS and Android versions. The others in the fray like Windows, BlackBerry, and Nokia are increasingly getting marginalized and are left to fend with the paltry 8% share.

Going by a recent report, Apple iOS and Google Android makes for 92% of smartphones in 2012. A research released yesterday by Strategy Analytics (a global, independent research and consulting firm. The company is headquartered in Boston, USA, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, and China) said that the global smartphone shipments grew 38% annually to reach 217 mn units in the fourth quarter of 2012. Android and Apple iOS together accounted for a record 92% of all smartphones shipped worldwide.

Neil Shah, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, "Global smartphone shipments grew 38% from 157 mn units in Q4 2011 to 217.0 mn in Q4 2012. Global smartphone shipments for the full year reached a record 700.1 mn units in 2012, increasing robustly from 490.5 mn units in 2011. Global shipment growth slowed from 64% in 2011 to 43% in 2012 as penetration of smartphones began to mature in developed regions such as North America and Western Europe."

According to Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, "We estimate 152.1 mn Android smartphones were shipped globally in Q4 2012, nearly doubling from 80.6 million units in Q4 2011. Android's share of the global smartphone market has surged from 51% to 70% over the past year, crushing Symbian, Bada and other platforms in its wake. Almost half-a-billion Android smartphones were shipped in total worldwide during 2012. Android is clearly the undisputed volume leader of the smartphone industry at the present time. Android's challenge for 2013 will be to defend its leadership, not only against Apple, but also against an emerging wave of hungry challengers that includes Microsoft, BlackBerry, Firefox, and Tizen."

Scott Bicheno, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, "Apple grew 29%  annually and shipped 47.8 million smartphones worldwide for 22% marketshare in Q4 2012, dipping slightly from 24% a year earlier. Combined together, Apple and Android accounted for a record 92% share of all smartphones shipped globally in the fourth quarter of 2012. The worldwide smartphone industry has effectively become a duopoly as consumer demand has polarized around mass-market Android models and premium Apple designs."