The latest numbers from research firm Gartner reveal that the smartphone industry continues to be a virtual two-horse race between iOS and Android. The operating systems combined for a record 99.1% worldwide market share in the second calendar quarter of 2016, compared to 96.8% in the year-ago period.
Android remained the world's most widely used smartphone operating system with 86.2% market share in the second quarter, up from 82.2% a year ago, while iOS dropped to 12.9% market share from 14.6% in the year-ago period. Windows and BlackBerry smartphones continued their long-running descent, dropping to 0.6% and 0.1% market share worldwide respectively.
Units in thousands
iOS and Android achieving a 99% duopoly in the smartphone market is remarkable given that Symbian and BlackBerry operating systems were industry leaders just six years ago. Symbian was used by several major mobile phone vendors, including Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson.
Symbian was essentially discontinued in 2012, beyond being used on a few regional smartphones in Japan, while BlackBerry released its first Android smartphone last year. Meanwhile, Microsoft scaled back its Windows Phone efforts earlier this year following continuously poor sales of Lumia devices.
Sunday September 14, 2025 8:46 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Following three months of beta testing, iOS 26 will be released this Monday, September 15. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, and it will be available to install via the Settings app, under General → Software Update.
Below, we have highlighted eight new features included in iOS 26. Even more new features and changes are outlined in Apple's release notes for the...
Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19.
As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation.
According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
Friday September 12, 2025 6:11 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air pre-orders began at 5 a.m. Pacific Time in the U.S. and many other countries today. If you have yet to place a pre-order, you might face a longer wait now, depending on your desired configuration.
As of shortly after 6 a.m. Pacific Time today, nearly all iPhone 17 Pro Max configurations on Apple's online store in the U.S. are facing ...
Thursday September 11, 2025 4:01 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's new Live Translation feature for AirPods will be off-limits to millions of European users when it arrives next week, with strict EU regulations likely holding back its rollout.
Apple says on its feature availability webpage that "Apple Intelligence: Live Translation with AirPods" won't be available if both the user is physically in the EU and their Apple Account region is in the EU....
Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping."
The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes:
iPhone 17
Display Changes
The iPhone...
Saturday September 13, 2025 11:43 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air pre-orders began on Friday in the U.S. and many other countries. iPhone 17 Pro Max delivery estimates quickly slipped beyond the Friday, September 19 launch day for those who had yet to place an order, and now the rest of the new models have started to follow suit.
As of shortly after 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time today, select iPhone 17, ...
Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Today's the day. Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that it will be releasing iOS 26 sometime today – Monday, September 15.
Based on past releases, the update is likely...
Tuesday September 9, 2025 12:23 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple continues to phase out the physical SIM card tray on iPhones, with the latest models relying solely on eSIM technology in more countries.
The new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max support eSIMs only in these countries and regions, according to Apple:
Bahrain
Canada
Guam
Japan
Kuwait
Mexico
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Un...
Friday September 12, 2025 9:33 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today disclosed its out-of-warranty repair fees for all of the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models, ahead of the devices launching next week.
First and foremost, Apple's battery replacement fees did not increase for the latest iPhone models in the U.S., with Apple charging a flat $119 to replace the battery inside an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or iPhone Air. This is the same fee it...
This is disappointing. This market share for Apple is terrible. I'd love to see iOS with six figure units sold each quarter. This has to do with iOS pricing for iPhone. A lower cost device will bring Apple higher ongoing income from other products and services,
At what point do developers stop making apps for iOS? Wasn't that the issue the Mac had in the 1990's, a smaller and smaller market share, so developers abandon it?
This is disappointing. This market share for Apple is terrible. I'd love to see iOS with six figure units sold each quarter. This has to do with iOS pricing for iPhone. A lower cost device will bring Apple higher ongoing income from other products and services,
At what point do developers stop making apps for iOS? Wasn't that the issue the Mac had in the 1990's, a smaller and smaller market share, so developers abandon it?
Developers make 4x from iOS apps vs. Android. The vast majority of people choosing* Android don't spend a dime on apps nor services.
Apple's iOS strategy is no different from the Mac's: skim the customers creme, enjoy the high margins and spend more on customer service. You can't beat iOS.
*EDIT: they don't actually "choose": they pick the lowest priced item, and it's not an iPhone.
I have the iPhone 6s Plus, I just bought the Nexus 6P to try Android. The phone was inexpensive as it was less that half what I paid for my iPhone. Slightly larger screen at 5.7, and crazy clear/sharp. The operating system was very surprising, I downloaded Android 7.0 and IOS 10. I was surprised how much more I preferred Android. Downloaded all the same Apps, I have to say I am sold! I just placed my order for a Note 7. I'm sold on Android and decided to get a phone far more advanced than iPhone. I'm shocked Android is so much nicer and the broad range of high end phones. I thought Apple was king. I strangely feel bad as I am a real Apple fan, have been for 18 years.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more.
