The latest numbers from research firm Gartner reveal that the smartphone industry continues to be a virtual two-horse race between iOS and Android. The operating systems combined for a record 99.1% worldwide market share in the second calendar quarter of 2016, compared to 96.8% in the year-ago period.
Android remained the world's most widely used smartphone operating system with 86.2% market share in the second quarter, up from 82.2% a year ago, while iOS dropped to 12.9% market share from 14.6% in the year-ago period. Windows and BlackBerry smartphones continued their long-running descent, dropping to 0.6% and 0.1% market share worldwide respectively.
Units in thousands
iOS and Android achieving a 99% duopoly in the smartphone market is remarkable given that Symbian and BlackBerry operating systems were industry leaders just six years ago. Symbian was used by several major mobile phone vendors, including Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson.
Symbian was essentially discontinued in 2012, beyond being used on a few regional smartphones in Japan, while BlackBerry released its first Android smartphone last year. Meanwhile, Microsoft scaled back its Windows Phone efforts earlier this year following continuously poor sales of Lumia devices.
Monday October 19, 2026 9:37 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today sent out invites for an experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, and the "Pro and tell" tagline on the invitation likely means that the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled OLED displays will stick with MacBook Pro branding instead of the once-rumored "MacBook Ultra" name.
The long-rumored "iPhone Ultra" ended up being named iPhone Duo, so speculation that Apple...
Tuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by Juli Clover
With just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day.
Many apps are shown in landscape...
Monday October 19, 2026 9:05 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple's Greg Joswiak today hinted at new product announcements coming next week, sharing a social media post that says "Can't wait to pro and tell next week."
Rumors suggest Apple is planning to debut the new MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen display, an M6 entry-level MacBook Pro, an M6 iMac, an iPad mini with an OLED display.
Can't wait to pro and tell next week....
This is disappointing. This market share for Apple is terrible. I'd love to see iOS with six figure units sold each quarter. This has to do with iOS pricing for iPhone. A lower cost device will bring Apple higher ongoing income from other products and services,
At what point do developers stop making apps for iOS? Wasn't that the issue the Mac had in the 1990's, a smaller and smaller market share, so developers abandon it?
Developers make 4x from iOS apps vs. Android. The vast majority of people choosing* Android don't spend a dime on apps nor services.
Apple's iOS strategy is no different from the Mac's: skim the customers creme, enjoy the high margins and spend more on customer service. You can't beat iOS.
*EDIT: they don't actually "choose": they pick the lowest priced item, and it's not an iPhone.
This is disappointing. This market share for Apple is terrible. I'd love to see iOS with six figure units sold each quarter. This has to do with iOS pricing for iPhone. A lower cost device will bring Apple higher ongoing income from other products and services,
At what point do developers stop making apps for iOS? Wasn't that the issue the Mac had in the 1990's, a smaller and smaller market share, so developers abandon it?
I have the iPhone 6s Plus, I just bought the Nexus 6P to try Android. The phone was inexpensive as it was less that half what I paid for my iPhone. Slightly larger screen at 5.7, and crazy clear/sharp. The operating system was very surprising, I downloaded Android 7.0 and IOS 10. I was surprised how much more I preferred Android. Downloaded all the same Apps, I have to say I am sold! I just placed my order for a Note 7. I'm sold on Android and decided to get a phone far more advanced than iPhone. I'm shocked Android is so much nicer and the broad range of high end phones. I thought Apple was king. I strangely feel bad as I am a real Apple fan, have been for 18 years.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
