Google’s Android army is marching bravely forward, while Apple’s iOS continues to rapidly lose market share.
According to Quantcast, Android has put in a “powerful” performance, as measured by the share of mobile web consumption attributable to devices running Google’s operating system.
Indeed, Android captured share from every major player during the month of August, achieving its best month share gain since November 2009 by capturing 25% of the US mobile market.
“[Yes], the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch [may] still [be] the king of this space with about 56% of the market but that’s an 11% decrease from this time last year,” commented Marin Perez of IntoMobile.
“[And] both platforms are still growing, as the smartphone market is poised for explosive growth. Google said it is activating more than 200,000 Android units a day, while Apple claims it is activating more than 230,000 iOS units per day.”
However, Perez emphasized that both mobile operating systems were no longer limited to just smartphones.
“[For example], the Apple iPad is already a big hit and we should see the company revise the lineup every year like it does with its iPod and iPhone.
“[Of course], Android is going to be making a large push in the tablet space, too. We’ve already seen the stellar Samsung Galaxy Tab, and devices from Toshiba and ViewSonic…[But] we should have a slew of Android tablets by end of year.”
Meanwhile, Android Central’s Jerry Hildenbrand noted that every company on Quantcast’s chart was in the process of “slipping” – except for Android.
“Whether you look at the numbers by the month, the quarter, or the year as a whole the trend is the same, and if it continues Android will have the majority of the US mobile browser market within a year,” he opined.
“In business you either lead, follow, or get out of the way. A steamroller driven by a friendly green robot is coming through, and that huge user base some others have been enjoying isn’t going to be enough to stop it.”
