Cumulative global shipments of smartphones using Google’s Android operating system will exceed 1 billion in 2013 since its introduction, according to a report by IHS.
Worldwide annual unit shipments of Android phones will increase to 451 million in 2013, up from 357 million in 2012, according to the IHS iSuppli Wireless Communications Smartphone Report.
IHS forecasts that Apple’s iOS, will amount to 527 million in cumulative shipments in 2013 and will not reach the 1 billion level until 2015.
According to the report, cumulative shipments will reach 3 billion in 2016 with Android’s annual growth set to continue expanding at double-digit percentages in the coming years.
IHS mobile analyst Daniel Gleeson said that the Androids are taking over the world of smartphones.
"We expect the Android operating system to become the first to reach the milestone of 1 billion shipments during its lifetime," Gleeson said.
"For Google, this accomplishment highlights the success of its growth strategy for Android, which is based on providing the operating system as an open-source platform to third-party smartphone brands free of charge," Gleeson said.
The companies selling Android-based smartphones include Samsung, HTC, Sony, ZTE, Huawei, Motorola and LG.
The combined share of Apple and Google smartphones will amount to 76% of the market in 2012.
The remaining 24% of market will be divided between Microsoft’s Windows Phone, Nokia’s Symbian, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, and other platforms such as Samsung’s Bada and Linux.
Apple and Google will dominate the smartphone market in coming years, accounting nearly 80% share of the smartphone market by 2016.
Android has overtaken BlackBerry as the top smartphone operating systems (OS) in Indonesia with a market share of 52%, according to IDC.
In August 2012, a report from IDC found that nearly 85% of the smartphones shipped in the second quarter (Q2) of 2012 were powered by Android and iOS platforms, reporting a joint rise for the mobile operating systems developed by Google and Apple.
