Android and iOS have been battling market dominance for more than a decade, and their constant rivalry has driven innovation and improved user experiences in the smartphone segment.
Although both platforms introduced innovative features with each new version, outdoing their competitors and constantly raising the bar to meet evolving user demands, Android remains the absolute leader. Moreover, its market share has continuously grown in the past 12 months.
According to data presented by AltIndex.com, the Android market share has increased for five quarters in a row, reaching 71,7% in Q3.
Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS have evolved through updates, introducing new features and capabilities over the years. The latest version of iOS, iOS 17, was released in September 2023, while Android 14 was made available a month later.
Although iOS, exclusively available only on Apple’s iPhone devices, has had better success in bringing its users up to date, Android’s open-source approach, which allows different smartphone manufacturers to use and modify the OS, led to the explosive growth of Android-powered devices.
The rise of Chinese smartphone vendors Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Realme, primarily using the Android operating system, has fuelled Android’s market share growth, with their cost-effective models helping Android to reach a larger audience.
Android’s latest market share growth follows a drop in Q2 2023, when it slipped to under 69% during that quarter – its lowest point in years.
In the North American market, iOS still dominates, although its market share has dropped from 56,8% in Q2 2023 to 55,2% in Q3 2024. During this period, Android’s market share increased by 1,7%, now standing at 44,4%.
The European market remains dominated by Android. Statistics show Android market share in Europe increased from 63,1% in Q2 2023 to 67,7% in Q3 this year. During the same period, iOS has market share has fallen by 4,4% to 31,8%.