At this point, I don’t think it’s new for anyone to report that the smartphone race is over for everyone who’s not called Android or iOS that is, only these two platforms have managed to feed (or at least) maintain their relevance on the world stage, while all the others that have tried (some even with good times in recent years) can basically take their certificates of death and extend the white flag.
No one would bet, however, that the numbers were even more dramatic than we imagined. Maybe Windows still kept, I know, 1% or 2% of the market? No, ladies and gentlemen, the conversation really ended. Just look at the latest research from Gartner about the universe of smartphones sold worldwide throughout 2017.
As you can see, Android basically took over the world with a slice of 85.9% of the market, with iOS struggling and occupying space in the only market that interests the medium / high standard with a share in 14%. The “Others” category, which includes Windows, BlackBerry and whatever the other systems are circulating around, he got a lot of money 0.1%. That is, yes: hand in hand, Google and Apple hold 99.9% of the world of our pocket computers.
Impressive? Spooky? I would say both.
Analyzing the separate survey by manufacturers, we can also see the total sales figures for smartphones, which grew slightly compared to 2016, with around 1.536 billion(!) of devices shipped over the past year. THE Samsung remains an isolated leader in the segment with a 20.9% market share and an interesting growth compared to the previous year. THE Apple, in turn, maintains the second place with a share of 14% however, the number of handsets sold comparing 2016 and 2017 fell slightly, as well as its share in the segment. Still on the ground, however, for turning on warning signs in Cupertino.
Gartner also released data for the fourth quarter of 2017 only, showing a drop from Apple in the year-over-year comparison this is slightly worrying, since the last quarter is typically the one that brings the most iPhone sales to Ma. company maintained second place in the overall ranking, just behind leader Samsung. According to Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta:
Apple was in a different position this past quarter than it was 12 months ago. It had three new smartphones, the iPhones 8, 8 Plus and X, but its performance in the period was overshadowed by two factors. First, the late availability of the iPhone X led to a delay in updating to the iPhones 8 and 8 Plus, as consumers waited to test the more expensive model. In addition, the shortage of components and difficulties in production capacity preceded a long waiting time for delivery of the iPhone X, which normalized only in early December. We expect pent-up demand for the iPhone X to bring a delayed boost to Apple's sales in the first quarter of 2018.
Let's see what happens in the next chapters
via MacRumors
