Android and iOS dominate 99% of the smartphone world

Technology research and advisory company Gartner has shared a report that shows that the shipments of phones in the 2nd quarter of 2016 totaled 344 million, increasing by 4.3% compared to the same period in 2015.

“Demand for premium smartphones slowed in the second quarter of 2016 as consumers wait for new hardware launches in the second half of the year,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner.

Company	2Q16 Units	2Q16 Market Share (%)	2Q15 Units	2Q15 Market Share (%)
Samsung	76,743.5	22.3	72,072.5	21.8
Apple	44,395.0	12.9	48,085.5	14.6
Huawei	30,670.7	8.9	26,454.4	8.0
Oppo	18,489.6	5.4	8,073.8	2.4
Xiaomi	15,530.7	4.5	15,464.5	4.7
Others	158,530.3	46.0	160,162.1	48.5
Total	344,359.7	100.0	330,312.9	100.0

Samsung had a 10% increased market share over Apple in 2016 Q2, largely for its increased demand in its A and J series phones globally especially in emerging countries. Apple devices saw a general decline in its latest smartphone releases but an increase in older models as the prices fell in emerging countries as well.

In terms of operating systems, Android also saw a 86% market share, being integrated in both low-end and premium phones. Other operating systems like Huawei are also pushing their operating system and are becoming very popular in emerging countries as they are generally more faffordable.

“Google is evolving the Android platform fast, which allows Android players to remain at the cutting edge of smartphone technology,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. “Facing a highly commoditized smartphone market, Google’s focus is to further expand and diversify the Android platform with additional functionalities, like virtual reality, enabling more-intelligent experiences and reach into wearables, connected home devices, in-car entertainment and TV.”

In Zambia, the general scenario is that Android on Samsung, Huawei and Lenovo devices dominates, with iOS trailing behind, but BlackBerry remains quite popular even though shipments are low as many people are selling second-hand devices which stay in circulation. Windows devices are the least used.