251.4 Million Smartphones Were Sold Last Quarter, And 81.3% Were Running Android

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Worldwide smartphones shipments reached a whopping 251.4 million units during the third quarter of 2013, up 45% from the 172.8 million units sold during the same quarter last year, and 81.3% of them were running Android. The iPhone’s share fell to 13.4%, while Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform reached 4.1% — an improvement over last year’s 2.1% share.

As you might expect, most of the growth went to Android, which has gained 6.3 percentage points this year, while the bigger loser — you guessed it! — was BlackBerry. Its share went from 4.3% in Q3 2012 to just 1% in Q3 2013, according to the latest data from Strategy Analytics, despite the launch of the new BlackBerry Z30, and the price reductions to the Z10.

Windows Phone picked up some of that loss, it seems, claiming a 4.1% share of the smartphones sold. The increase has been attributed to new Windows Phone models designed for developed and developing markets, including Europe and Asia. Here are the figures for last quarter:Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 17.14.43

Four out of every five smartphones sold worldwide now are running Android, according to Strategy Analytics, but of course, these figures are never entirely fair. Android devices are manufactured by a whole host of companies, including Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG, and many others, but iOS is only available on the iPhone, and BlackBerry 10 is only available on a BlackBerry.

Android is always going to have the upper hand, then, and it’s clearly getting bigger by the day while the rest struggle to keep up. It’s also worth noting that Apple’s new iPhones only just made their debut late last month, so you can expect their share to increase during the fourth quarter.

Source: Strategy Analytics

Via: The Next Web

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