The latest numbers from analyst firm IDC reveal Android and iOS enjoyed 91.1% of all smartphone shipments during the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12).
This equated to shipments totalling 207.6 million units worldwide during this time, up 70.2% from the 122 million units shipped during 4Q11.
This was revealed in IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, which showed that for calendar year 2012, Android and iOS combined for 87.6% of the 722.4 million smartphones shipped worldwide, up from 68.1% of the 494.5 million units shipped during the previous calendar year.
Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team of smartphones, says the dominance of Android and Apple reached a new pinnacle in the fourth quarter. "Finding an Android smartphone for nearly any budget, taste, size, and price was all but guaranteed during 2012. As a result, Android was rewarded with market-beating growth."
Apple too enjoyed growth, largely due to the iPhone 5's popularity. "At the same time, lower prices on the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S brought iOS within reach of more users and sustained volume success of older models. Even with the Apple Maps debacle, iPhone owners were not deterred from purchasing new iPhones."
As top contenders, the race between Android and iOS has accounted for more than half of the smartphone OS market over the past two years. BlackBerry and Microsoft, at the same time, have introduced competing platforms that, according to the IDC, are "poised for competition".
Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 8 in 4Q12, and BlackBerry released BB10 in January 2013. According to the IDC, this is the first time two new platforms have been introduced to the smartphone space in the past few years.
"With the recent introductions of two new smartphone platforms, we expect some ground to be made by the new entrants over the coming years," said Ryan Reith, program manager with IDC's Mobile Device Trackers. "There is no question the road ahead is uphill for both Microsoft and BlackBerry, but history shows us consumers are open to change. Platform diversity is something not only the consumers have asked for, but also the operators."
OS highlights
Android continued its upward trend, reaching triple-digit growth for the year. Samsung contributed the most to Android's success, with 42% of all Android smartphone shipments during the year.
iOS posted yet another quarter and year of double-digit growth with strong demand for the iPhone. What stands out, says the IDC, is how iOS's year-over-year growth has slowed compared to the overall market. The smaller volumes during 2Q12, and to a lesser extent 3Q12, highlight the possibility for a mid-year iPhone release to maintain its steady growth.
BlackBerry's delay of the BB10 release to 2013 left it vulnerable in 2012 and reliant mainly on older smartphones running on BB7. The IDC says this has resulted in diminished popularity among enterprise users, and emerging markets.
"Now that BlackBerry has unveiled BB10, the company is faced with migrating current BlackBerry users to upgrade while persuading smartphone users of other platforms, including previous BlackBerry users, to switch," says IDC.
Also revealed in the report, Windows Phone/Windows Mobile made market-beating progress in 4Q12 and 2012. The IDC believes the addition of Nokia's "strong commitment behind the platform" was key to Microsoft's success. Concurrently, the relationship has benefited Nokia, which amassed 76% of all Windows Phone/Windows Mobile smartphone shipments.
Linux, says the IDC, has remained flat from the previous year, with long-time supporters NEC and Panasonic moving to Android, and newcomers K-Touch and Haier making up the difference.
The IDC says Linux will bear close scrutiny in 2013 as new smartphones from SailFish, Tizen, and Ubuntu are all scheduled for introduction this year. "Still, these new Linux-powered operating systems will require time and investment to gain momentum in the market, making for a slowly growing trajectory."
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