Android, Propelled by Samsung, Continues to Dominate Global Smartphone Marketshare

Android, riding as a platform on the success of Samsung’s strategy of pushing dozens of devices in most form factors in almost every market, holds a huge lead over any other mobile platforms — including iOS — in terms of global marketshare. While iOS (and even other platforms, like Windows Phone) continue to do well in developed markets, Android’s penetration in undeveloped markets is becoming absolute.

TechCrunch also notes that while overall smartphone marketshare is slowing in many developed countries and continents, Android’s marketshare doesn’t appear to be slowing at the same rate. In major markets, such as China, Android also does incredibly well even without a huge Samsung presence.

It’s unclear if Apple is interested in combatting Android’s marketshare. While Apple certainly doesn’t want to be relegated to a small player, the company does continue to make the majority of worldwide smartphone profits, meaning that Apple (at least for now) continues to hold the high-end of smartphone owners. It’s possible that Apple may release a less expensive iPhone in the next year to target undeveloped markets, though the device will likely not be as cheap as some hope for: I doubt that Apple will sacrifice quality for marketshare.

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