We already reported about the record-breaking profit numbers of Apple in the last quarter of 2014. But what does this mean for Android users? Does this mean the primary they face a grim outlook in the years to come?
Aside from the runaway iPhone sales, Google faces an unprecedented threat from "forked" versions of Android — independently developed offshoots of the mobile operating system that are out of Google's control. Can Android weather the storm and still emerge a viable option?
Data shows that despite all this threat, Android isn't going anywhere, at least not soon. Strategy Analytics has just revealed that Android reached a huge new milestone in 2014. For the first time ever, more than 1 billion devices were shipped with the Android OS.
This trounces iPhone sales, CNET reports. Apple sold just 192.7 million units in the same time period. According to Strategy Analytics, Android devices were in 81 percent of all smartphones sold last year. The global smartphone market also increased 30 percent, to 1.3 billion from 1 billion.
Microsoft's 3 percent market share is little more than a footnote, and all others combined come to less than 1 percent.
This record-breaking lead from Strategy Analytics means that Android's future is assured for years to come. Sure, Apple's platform is still consistently more profitable than Google's , with iOS users spending more on apps, but in the numbers game, Android is unassailable.
This is especially the case in the lower end of the market. While Apple is expanding into emerging economies like China in a big way, it is doing so by targeting high-end consumers. And it is manufacturers of higher-end Android devices, like Samsung, that are losing out as a result.
However, for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, Apple devices are out of reach. And unless Apple dramatically rethinks its pricing strategy (unlikely), they will remain so for years to come. Android users may not have the purchasing power of Apple's wealthy minority, but the OS' grip on the market is untouchable.
Aside from the runaway iPhone sales, Google faces an unprecedented threat from "forked" versions of Android — independently developed offshoots of the mobile operating system that are out of Google's control. Can Android weather the storm and still emerge a viable option?
Data shows that despite all this threat, Android isn't going anywhere, at least not soon. Strategy Analytics has just revealed that Android reached a huge new milestone in 2014. For the first time ever, more than 1 billion devices were shipped with the Android OS.
This trounces iPhone sales, CNET reports. Apple sold just 192.7 million units in the same time period. According to Strategy Analytics, Android devices were in 81 percent of all smartphones sold last year. The global smartphone market also increased 30 percent, to 1.3 billion from 1 billion.
Microsoft's 3 percent market share is little more than a footnote, and all others combined come to less than 1 percent.
This record-breaking lead from Strategy Analytics means that Android's future is assured for years to come. Sure, Apple's platform is still consistently more profitable than Google's , with iOS users spending more on apps, but in the numbers game, Android is unassailable.
This is especially the case in the lower end of the market. While Apple is expanding into emerging economies like China in a big way, it is doing so by targeting high-end consumers. And it is manufacturers of higher-end Android devices, like Samsung, that are losing out as a result.
However, for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, Apple devices are out of reach. And unless Apple dramatically rethinks its pricing strategy (unlikely), they will remain so for years to come. Android users may not have the purchasing power of Apple's wealthy minority, but the OS' grip on the market is untouchable.
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