Market research firm Strategy Analytics has put out new numbers for the second quarter of 2014 that estimate the Android platform’s share of the global market at a record 84.6 percent.
Strategy Analytics reported 295.2 million smartphone shipments during the period, just 0.1 million off from IDC’s number. Growth seems to have tapered off, with the firm recording the market’s slowest growth level in five years.
Android widened its lead on all its competitors. The share of Apple iOS reportedly fell from 13.4 percent a year ago to 11.9 percent, while Microsoft dropped from 3.8 percent to 2.7 percent, and BlackBerry shrunk from 2.4 percent to 0.6 percent.
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Strategy Analytics also put out a separate report detailing the breakdown of how smartphone brands performed in Q2 2014.
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Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has become the world’s fifth-largest brand for the first time ever, according to the research firm, which described it as a “star performer” for capturing a five percent share in the global smartphone market after shipping 15.1 million units.
Strategy Analytics noted: “Xiaomi’s Android smartphone models are wildly popular in the Chinese market and it shifts millions of them every quarter through its extensive online and operator channels. Xiaomi’s next step is to target the international market in Asia and Europe, where it will have to invest big money to familiarize western consumers with its unfamiliar brand name.”
In the meantime, Strategy Analytics found that Samsung shipped 74.5 million smartphones worldwide to capture a 25 percent share of the market, a marked decline from its 33 percent market share a year earlier. Apple shipped 35.2 million smartphones and saw its market share fall slightly from 13.4 percent to 11.9 percent.
Kaylene Hong contributed to this article
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