The battle between Apple and Google for
controlling the mobile market has taken a new turn. The Google promoted Android
has overtaken Apple’s iOS to become the market share leader in Q2 2011 in the mobile
application downloads. The market shares of Android and iOS were 44 and 31
percent, respectively.
Android’s
open source strategy is the main factor for its success.
Being a
free platform has expanded the Android device install base, which in turn has
driven growth in the number of third party multi-platform and mobile operator
app stores. These conditions alone explain why Android is the new leader in the
mobile application market,” said Lim Shiyang, research associate, ABI Research.
Despite
leading in total mobile application downloads, Android’s app downloads per user
still lag behind Apple’s by 2-to-1. Apple’s superior monetization policies
attracted good developers within its ranks, thus creating a better catalog of
apps and customer experience.
Recent
quarterly shipment growth figures explain Android’s ascent to the top app
download position. iPhone shipment growth in Q2 2011 slowed to 9 percent from
15 percent a quarter earlier. Android smartphone shipments increased 36 percent
in Q2 2011, compared to 20 percent in Q1. Android’s install base now exceeds
iOS by a factor of 2.4-to-1 worldwide; by 2016 this factor will grow to 3-to-1.
Global app
downloads for year-end 2011 are expected to touch 29 billion, compared to nine
billion in 2010. Such stellar increases are largely due to the proliferation of
smartphones around the world. The total smartphone install base is expected to
grow 46 percent in 2011.
According
to Strategy Analytics, global tablet
shipments reached 17 million units in the third quarter of 2011. Apple iOS and
Android dominate the worldwide market with a combined 94 percent share.
Demand for tablets in developed
and developing markets remains high. Apple shipped a record 11.1 million iPads
and achieved 67 percent global tablet market share during the third quarter of
2011. Apple iOS remains the dominant tablet platform with the most established
services ecosystem.
According
to Ovum, Google’s Android will dominate total mobile phone app downloads in
Asia Pacific as compared with Apple’s iPhone. Android will take a significant
lead in AP, with 1.8 billion downloads compared to Apple’s 1.5
billion. Last year the two top players reached downloads of 244 million
and 424 million in AP respectively.
Android’s dominance in this area will soar over the next few
years, and by 2016 there will be almost double the total number of Android
phone application downloads compared to iPhone in AP, with 6.07 billion and 3.4
billion respectively.
The market will be witnessing more action in coming months. Apple
initiatives without Steve Jobs, Google with Motorola in their kitty and the
Nokia-Microsoft union are worth watching for the OS space.
By Baburajan
K
[email protected]
