According to research conducted by StockApps, Apple’s iOS has gained ground over the last four years and has eaten a good chunk of Android’s global OS market share. However, Google’s OS still dominates the market.
In 2018, Android had a market share of 77.32%, while this year it is estimated that around 69.74% of all devices in the world run Android. That is almost a decrease of 8% in four years. In contrast, iOS has grown from 19.4% to 25.49% throughout the same period.
There may be many reasons behind this, but the most obvious is that Apple has expanded its smartphone and tablet range significantly. The company has released four flagship iPhones in the last few years instead of two and has updated its iPhone SE family. Giving customers more choice and at lower prices certainly has its effect.
Nevertheless, Apple will have a hard time dethroning Android for one simple reason – Android’s open source character. Only Apple devices are sold with iOS, while Android can be implemented on different devices, not just smartphones and tablets. Despite Apple’s efforts to expand its portfolio of iOS devices, Android still has variation on its side, with smartphones ranging from $ 100 to $ 1,000 +.
Then there is Android’s dominance in markets where iPhones are much more expensive than their competitors. South America and Africa are just two examples, as the former market has only 10% iOS adoption. In contrast, Apple in North America enjoys more than half the market share.
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