With more than 328 million Android devices being shipped all over the world and having an 88% market share, as per Strategy Analytics, Android is undoubtedly ruling the smartphone industry. On the other hand, the biggest competitor of Android, that is Apple’s iOS, has a mere 12.1% share in the market.
When Andy Rubin sold his startup Android to Google in 2005, little did he realize the kind of rage it is going to become in a few years. The age-old feature phones’ mini screens had no support for touch input and they couldn’t even run different apps together. With the advent of smartphones, your organizer, phone, planner, camera, and even your computer have huddled together in your hand.
Here are some of the reasons how Android has helped taking the smartphone industry forward:
Compatibility with a Number of Phone Brands
The major reason behind this immense success of Android is its ability to integrate with a number of devices. Unlike iOS, Android is not just compatible with only a few devices rather, it supports handsets and tablets from Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, and others.
Neil Mawston who is the executive director of Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) at Strategy Analytics says, “Android had less than 5% of the market worldwide back in 2010. It has just grown relentlessly.”
Apart from hand-held devices, Android has also become an integral software of LEDs and other electronics increasing their functionality.
An OS for the Highly Regulated Chinese Market
Despite its strict policies regarding consumer products that have been designed to promote local goods, Android still has a firm place in the country. The local brands like Xiaomi may have overpowered the biggies like Samsung and Apple but as yet, they have failed to produce an OS as powerful and smart as Android.
Services like Google Maps, Gmail, and even Google’s search function might not have been able to hold a strong ground in the country but Android definitely has done so. It has further chances of growing thanks to handset makers like Huawei, LeEco, Xiaomi, Weibo, and Oppo, thus, giving a further market boost to Android as well as to the smartphone industry.
Growing Economies like India Rely on it
Because of so many restrictions in China, it is no surprise that some of the most powerful smartphone manufacturers resort to India because of its huge market size. All the dominant smartphone players in the country including Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo have Android OS in them with 97% of smartphone users using Android devices.
The high prices and exclusivity of Apple phones have made them restricted to the elites only and the rest of the country uses cheaper phones with advanced features. While the share of Samsung is 25.1%, Oppo and Vivo have 3.3% and 2.5% shares respectively and these figures are expected to rise in future.
Failure of Other Platforms
During the first quarter of 2016, the sales of Windows phones declined by 46% ultimately causing them to have an almost non-existent share in the market. Nokia realized that its Windows phones were of no good making it launch new Android-based devices. Even Sony Ericsson came back to the masses in the form of Sony Xperia phones.
Blackberry also had to bring a halt to its production because of the declining popularity of the handsets in different parts of the world. The company faced three straight years of losses and decided to end all the efforts which were being made to keep the platform alive. Motorola is also done and has become a part of history now.
Open Nature of the OS
A device needs to pass the compatibility test in order to join the ecosystem of Android devices. These tests are regulated by Google and only when a device meets all the tests, it can be called join the list of other Android devices. This is a subtle test and makes sure that a handset follows Google’s vision for a modern OS smartphone for qualification.
By keeping some strict standards, Google ensures that only the potential companies enter the market and can be a part of their ecosystem. This further promotes the use of smartphones around the world as the availability of different options facilitates the buying power of people. However, it also knows how to keep futile devices from entering the market that will bring disgrace to a popular OS.
According to Android news, Apple takes away a whopping 60% of the smartphone revenue but despite this, the number of Android devices outnumbers Apple devices greatly. Because of increased smartphone usage, this OS has even left behind Windows as being the most popular one around the world and its popularity is still on the rise.
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