Android maintained its position as the leading mobile operating system worldwide in the third quarter of 2025 with a market share of about ***** percent. Android's closest rival, Apple's iOS, had a market share of approximately ***** percent during the same period. The leading mobile operating systems Both unveiled in 2007, Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS have evolved through incremental updates introducing new features and capabilities. The latest version of iOS, iOS 18, was released in September 2024, while the most recent Android iteration, Android 15, was made available in September 2023. A key difference between the two systems concerns hardware - iOS is only available on Apple devices, whereas Android ships with devices from a range of manufacturers such as Samsung, Google and OnePlus. In addition, Apple has had far greater success in bringing its users up to date. As of February 2024, ** percent of iOS users had iOS 17 installed, while in the same month only ** percent of Android users ran the latest version. The rise of the smartphone From around 2010, the touchscreen smartphone revolution had a major impact on sales of basic feature phones, as the sales of smartphones increased from *** million units in 2008 to **** billion units in 2023. In 2020, smartphone sales decreased to **** billion units due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Apple, Samsung, and lately also Xiaomi, were the big winners in this shift towards smartphones, with BlackBerry and Nokia among those unable to capitalize.

In October 2025, Android 15 held the top spot with a market share of just around ** percent, followed by Android 13 at approximately ** percent, and Android 12 with about ** percent. The newly released Android 16 accounted for just under **** percent. Android dominates the global market Released in 2007, Android’s adaptability and versatility quickly attracted the support of major smartphone manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, and HTC, who designed phones specifically for the Android system. This strategic alliance and competitive pricing propelled Android to become the most used smartphone operating system since 2011. By 2023, it dominated over ** percent of the entire mobile OS market worldwide, outpacing its biggest competitor, Apple. In addition to its global dominance, Android led the European mobile OS market in 2023 with a share of nearly ** percent. Android Apps and the Google Play Store The world’s largest app store, the Google Play Store, bolsters the popularity of Android devices, which boasted nearly *** million apps ready for download as of *********. During this time, the most downloaded Android apps were Meta’s Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Meanwhile, the streaming services apps Disney+ and HBO Max were the top revenue-generating Android apps, raking in over ** million and ** million U.S. dollars, respectively, in *********.

As of October 2025, the Android 15 operating system (OS) dominated the Android space over the Android 16 and 13 versions, holding a share of over ** percent of all mobile Android devices in the United States. Android 16 held around ** percent and Android 13 ranked third with approximately **** percent market share.

Android continues to shape the mobile world. From billions of users to the latest AI enhancements, its relevance spans industries and individual lives alike. For example, Android powers mission-critical earthquake alert systems in regions with minimal infrastructure, turning everyday phones into early-warning sensors. In another use case, retail chains leverage...

This dataset simulates anonymized mobile screen time and app usage data collected from Android/iOS users over a 3-month period (Jan–April 2024). It captures daily usage trends across various app categories including:

Productivity: Google Docs, Notion, Slack

Entertainment: YouTube, Netflix, TikTok

Social Media: Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook

Utilities: Chrome, Gmail, Maps

For YouTube, additional engagement statistics such as views, likes, and comments are included to analyze video popularity and content consumption behavior.

The dataset enables exploration of:

Productivity vs. entertainment screen time patterns

Daily usage fluctuations

App-specific user engagement

Correlation between time spent and user interactions

YouTube content virality metrics

This is a great resource for:

EDA projects

Behavioral clustering

Dashboard development

Time series and anomaly detection

Building recommendation or focus-assistive apps

Dataset

This dataset was created by Michael Lomuscio

Contents

According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2022, almost half of the male respondents, ** percent, were using an Android smartphone, while the usage of the iOS operating system was lower, ** percent. By comparison, usage of smartphones with Android operative system among women was ** percent, while ** percent of U.S. female users had an iOS device.

App Download Key StatisticsApp and Game DownloadsiOS App and Game DownloadsGoogle Play App and Game DownloadsGame DownloadsiOS Game DownloadsGoogle Play Game DownloadsApp DownloadsiOS App...

In May 2025, iOS had a mobile internet usage market share of roughly 36.9 percent. Android had the highest share, with around 62 percent. According to the source, the figures were based on "pocket-sized" devices only.

Apple's iOS continues to hold the largest share of the smartphone operating systems market in the United States, claiming more than **** of the market in 2024. Apple's share of the U.S. market has remained stable since 2018, when it accounted for around ** percent. This is reflected in all markets, with Apple's global share remaining stable year-on-year. Apple growing at home Under CEO Tim Cook, Apple has continued to follow a stunning growth trajectory. Apple became the first U.S. company with a market capitalization exceeding two trillion dollars, just two years on from becoming the first trillion-dollar company. The iPhone, responsible for much of the company’s growth, has cemented its status as the smartphone of choice for many Americans during recent quarters. Google's Android operating system is a close competitor in the U.S. OS market, accounting for around ** percent of the market as of **********. However, Apple commands a far wider lead in the U.S. smartphone manufacturer market, with the Android user base split between various vendors such as Samsung and Motorola. Apple’s popularity across markets Apple has seen success with the iPhone in developed markets across the globe. iPhones accounted for **** of the **** most-sold handsets in the United Kingdom as of ************, and four of the leading five in Germany. Yet, the high price of Apple devices puts Apple at a disadvantage outside of wealthier markets. In Africa, iOS accounted for around ** percent of the mobile OS market in *************, while Android dominated with an ** percent share.

Percentage of smartphone users by selected smartphone use habits in a typical day.

The survey shows the kind of app usage of Android users sorted by business and personal reasons.

Google's Android and Apple's iOS are the major competitors in the mobile operating system market in North America. In October 2025, iOS accounted for about **** percent of the mobile OS market, while Android accounted for around ** percent. Just **** percent of North American users were running a system other than Android or iOS

As of Q1 2025, Android ** ran on over ** percent of all tablet Android devices worldwide, increasing from just under **** percent in Q1 2024. In the same period, tablets running Android ** decreased from over nearly ** percent to slightly over ** percent.

Android had a market share of 55.5 percent among smartphone operating systems in Japan in June 2025, while iOS held a market share of 42.7 percent. Based on factors such as purchases, bills, and usage, Android was the leading operating system in Japan throughout all of the prior months in 2025. Smartphone market in Japan A breakdown of smartphone shipments by vendor shows that Apple is the undisputed leader in the Japanese market, although Google managed to increase its market share with the release of new Google Pixel models since 2023. Several major Japanese companies, such as Sharp, Kyocera, and Sony, continue to play a role in their home market, but have difficulties defending their market shares against their international competitors. This situation is also reflected by a ranking of the best-selling device models, which is usually dominated by iPhone models. Smartphone usage Smartphones have become an indispensable device for many Japanese consumers. A look at the household penetration rate reveals that about nine out of ten households now own smartphones. Smartphones have surpassed computers as the leading device used to access the internet. This change is also reflected by the average time people spend using the internet via mobile devices per weekday, which has increased significantly in recent years.

According to a December 2021 survey of mobile users in the United States, it was found that 58 percent of smartphone users aged 18 and 34 years, were using iPhone as their main device. U.S. users between 35 and 54 years, on the other hand, preferred using an Android phone, as 53 percent of respondents of this age group stated using a smartphone operated by Android such as a Samsung or a Google smartphone.

As of September 2025, iOS had around **** percent of the market share of mobile operating systems in the United Kingdom (UK), while Android led with roughly ** percent of the market.The penetration rate of smartphones and the number of smartphone users has been growing for quite some time, and Apple and Android have been dominating the smartphone market since the beginning. However, the smartphone penetration growth rate has been in decline the past few years.It seems most consumer purchase a new smartphone because their old device is out of date. In this case, it would depend on how often the smartphone manufacturers bring out with a new model to figure out how often consumer may purchase a new smartphone.

In October 2025, the Android smartphone operating system had a market share of over ** percent in China. In contrast, its biggest rival, the Apple iOS had a market share of around **** percent. The Chinese smartphone market is dominated by domestic brands which operate on the Android operating system. The domestic smartphone industry Domestic brands dominate the Chinese smartphone market, making it difficult for foreign manufacturers. While Samsung and Apple are the global industry leaders, only the iPhone can assert its market position as an overseas product in China. The remainder of the market is occupied by Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, Viva, and Oppo. A truly domestic operating system in the making Despite a large Chinese smartphone industry, domestic manufacturers have not developed a stand-alone mobile operating system — yet. Although all leading brands have developed their proprietary OS, they are still based on the Android system. However, Huawei with its HarmonyOS is the only company that is the closest to a truly independent software. Despite being originally developed on Android, Huawei plans to remove all android code from the microkernel in its Q4 2024 software release.

In 2023, the two smartphone operating systems with the largest market share in Australia were Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. As of January 2024, iOS held a ** percent share of the mobile operating system market in Australia. Smart phone hardware and users It’s hardly surprising then, that Apple also had a share of over half of the device market in **********. By comparison Samsung, the leading Android device manufacturer, had a share of just over ** percent. By comparison, other companies all had market shares of around *** percent. In 2018, 90 percent of Australians aged 12 and over owned a smartphone, with ** percent aged between 25 and 54 owning a device. Market penetration of smartphones in Australia Most mobile phone users in Australia use smartphones; the penetration of smartphone devices in Australia in 2016 was around ** percent of the population, and this was estimated to increase to around ** percent by 2022. Additionally, estimates suggest that in 2019, ** percent of Australian mobile phone users would use smartphones.

The graph shows a comparison for app downloads worldwide from 2018 to 2024, using data from Sensor Tower and data.ai. Global app downloads have plateaued in recent years, even declining, after seeing strong growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. For 2024, 136 billion unique downloads per user account were recorded. Why the difference? Source methodology explains the gap The discrepancy arises from significant differences in the methodology used by the sources to aggregate and generate the data. Sensor Tower reports only unique downloads per user account, excluding app updates, re-downloads, and installations on multiple devices by the same user. In contrast, data.ai includes these additional activities as well as downloads from third-party Android stores and a broader geographic scope, resulting in substantially higher total counts. As a result, Sensor Tower's numbers better reflect new user acquisition, while data.ai's encompass all market activity and total engagement. Despite stagnating downloads user spending is growing While the number of downloads is leveling off, consumer spending on in-app purchases and related revenue has grown in 2024 to 150 billion U.S. dollars, up from around 130 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. While gaming remains the highest grossing app category overall, other categories drove the growth. The entertainment, photo & video, productivity, and social networking categories each grew by at least one billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2024 compared to the previous year.