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.

iOS and Android, Apple's and Google's respective operating systems, were the mobile OS market leaders in the United States in recent years, making up almost 100 percent of the market. The market share of both iOS and Android has remained relatively constant over the past 12 months at or around ** percent and ** percent, respectively.

Google's Android and Apple's iOS are the major competitors in the mobile operating system market in North America. In November 2024, Android accounted for about 56 percent of the mobile OS market, while iOS accounted for around 44 percent. Just 0.2 percent of North American users were running a system other than Android or iOS

Android maintained its position as the leading mobile operating system worldwide in the first 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.

Smartphones running the Android operating system hold an ** percent share of the global market in 2019 and this is expected to increase over the forthcoming years. The mobile operating system developed by Apple (iOS) has a ** percent share of the market.

How Android became the market leader Android’s global success can in many ways be attributed to its open-source software that can be installed on all smartphone devices for free. Developed by Google, the open code provides manufacturers the freedom to choose which apps are pre-installed on their devices, and they can customize layouts to create unique experiences for users. The first commercial version of the Android software was released in 2008 and its rise to market leader was almost instant. The platform held a **** percent share of the global operating systems’ market in 2009, but this figure increased by around ** percent each year for the next three years.

The global smartphone market Annual sales of smartphones have increased to around **** billion units worldwide. They are now available to everyone and not just those with wealth. The cost of buying a smartphone has continued to fall each year, with the global average price now being around *** U.S. dollars. Fierce competition within the smartphone market could be one reason why prices are falling. Samsung (South Korea) and Apple (U.S.) have historically held large shares of global smartphone production, but Chinese brands Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are now offering alternative devices that are proving popular worldwide.

This statistic shows the distribution of mobile operating systems installed on consumers' smartphones (by age group) in the United States in 2024. As of **********, ** percent of 18 to 29 year old respondents said that their smartphone ran on iOS (Apple). The survey was conducted among ***** respondents. Access millions of exclusive survey results with Statista Consumer Insights.

Since overtaking iOS in 2013 to become Europe’s most popular mobile operating system, Android has managed to increase its share of the market in each of the following years. As of 2023, Android was the operating system for about ** percent of European mobile phones. OS market share reflects diversity of android devices The Android operating system has a distinct advantage in terms of gaining market share, purely based on the number of manufacturers creating devices that run on Android. iOS, on the other hand, is only used by Apple devices. Looking at the market share held by individual devices gives a clearer impression of the state of play between the major manufacturers. In the second quarter of 2018, the combined European market share of Apple devices stood at ** percent, while the Android's market share was ** percent. Market shares in the United Kingdom   The market share iOS holds in the United Kingdom is higher than at the European level, sitting at ***** percent. Apple devices were the two most popular devices sold in the United Kingdom during April 2021, with the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max making up a combined ** percent of smartphones sold during that month.

Apple’s iOS is the leading operating system for tablets in the United States, with a market share of ***** percent as of January 2025. Its closest competitor, Google's Android, has a smaller, yet growing, market presence, with a nearly **** percent share of the market, down from around ***** percent in the same month in 2024. iOS and Android: A duet In line with the United States, Apple’s iOS operating system also dominates the tablet market in the United Kingdom with a **** percent market share in 2023, leaving Google’s Android with round around **** percent of the market. However, on a global scale, Google’s Android was the leading operating system for tablets until the third quarter of 2023, when iOS's market share globally overtook that of Google's with around **** percent share of the tablet OS market. The Apple iPad Introduced to the consumer market in 2010, the Apple iPad has become a household name in the tablet industry. The iPad has dramatically changed the tablet market not only in terms of technology but also consumer expectations. Since its initial release, Apple has progressed through ** generations of iPad hardware, shipping almost ** million units worldwide in the third quarter of 2022 alone.

In 2023, Android held a nearly ** percent share of the global smartphone OS market. Android's smartphone sales has been decreasing gradually since 2019, when it held a staggering ** percent of the market, due to Apple's smartphones' increasing share. Why is Google’s Android OS dominating the market? One reason for Android’s large market share is that it is an open-source platform, allowing mobile phone manufacturers to use and adapt the operating system for their own devices. Samsung, who run their own customized version of the Android operating system, currently have the largest share of global smartphone sales by vendor. In contrast, Apple’s iOS software is a closed-source platform, meaning they can control the user experience and make it available exclusively on their mobile devices, including the iPhone and iPad. This model has also proved profitable: Apple generated 69.7 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from iPhone sales alone in the first quarter of 2024. Changing trends in mobile OS market Android and iOS are the leading mobile operating systems today, but back in 2009 the market was much different with Symbian and RIM (Research In Motion) holding close to ** percent of the sales market share. Symbian operated on Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson devices, while RIM only functioned on BlackBerry smartphones. Both developers were slow to anticipate the changes within the mobile operating systems’ market and were ultimately left behind by the innovative approach of Apple and Google.

In October 2024, Android concentrated over ** percent of the mobile operating system market in Brazil. Apple's iOS held a share of nearly ** percent and was the only other system with a share larger than *** percent at that point in time. In 2019, Brazil was among the largest economies worldwide with an iOS adoption rate below ** percent, alongside India and Spain. A land of Androids In a country where more than three out of five consumers say they could not live without their smartphones, the mobile industry finds both a source of solid demand and a still expanding market. The preference for Android also helps to explain why the increasing penetration rate of cellphones manufactured in China. Beijing-based Xiaomi, for instance, accounted for less than two percent of the smartphone market in Brazil in February 2019. Exactly two years later, its share in that South American nation surpassed **** percent. A costly Apple Pricing is one of the reasons behind iOS’s limited popularity in Brazil. The average price of a newly released iPhone model in that country nearly doubled between 2016 and 2019, with iPhone XS’s surpassing ***** U.S. dollars in 2019. Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2020, devices priced below ***** Brazilian reals accounted for almost two-thirds of the smartphone sales in Brazil. At March 31, 2020 exchange rates, that was equivalent to about *** dollars.

In 2023, the used smartphone market share (including both officially refurbished and used smartphones) in North America reached 26 percent. The used smartphone market is expected to decrease in North America and by 2026, it will amount to les than 25 percent of the global used smartphone market. The global refurbished smartphone market In recent years, the refurbished smartphone market has been growing at a global level and reached a size of roughly 50 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. In the same year, over 251 million used or refurbished smartphones were shipped globally, with Latin America and India being the market leaders in terms of growth. The U.S. refurbished smartphone market Despite the U.S. playing an active role in the global refurbished smartphone market, Americans appear to prefer to buy new phones instead of reconditioned ones, mainly because they are concerned with the quality and reliability of their smartphones. However, those who do buy such devices prefer Apple iPhones rather than Android smartphones, making the iPhone XR and the iPhone 11 the most popular reconditioned smartphones.

Android was the unquestioned leader of the mobile operating system (mobile OS) market in 2018, with ** percent of all devices sold running the Android system. Mobile OS ecosystem Smartphone operating systems, often referred to as smartphone OS, are operating systems that operate smartphones, PDAs, tablets and other mobile devices. An operating system allows these devices to run applications and programs, therefore, bringing advanced functions to mobile devices that were previously restricted to desktop computers. The now-discontinued OS Symbian was the first popular smartphone operating system in the world. With the launch of Ericsson‘s R380 in 2000, Symbian became the first modern mobile OS on a smartphone. By 2009, Symbian accounted for nearly half of the global smartphone operating systems market, while RIM/Blackberry, also a pioneer in this market, held around ** percent of the share. Despite the early start, both Symbian and RIM have been almost driven out of the market as new operating systems were released. Apple introduced its first iPhone model to the consumer market in 2007, revolutionizing the market. Prior to the launch of Apple’s iPhone in 2007, smartphones were a rather niche product and had not yet attained mass appeal. As of 2020, Apple's iPhone held the third largest smartphone market share. Since 2011, Apple’s iOS market share has varied between ** and ** percent.

As of April 2025, Android held a share of over **** percent of the mobile operating system market in Indonesia. Over the past decade, Google has kept its leading market position. Mobile phone market in IndonesiaIndonesia booked as one of the fastest growth of the global top-ten smartphone markets worldwide. While ranked as the fourth-largest market in the world, Indonesia offers potential for growth because of a young population and increasing mobile internet penetration. Additionally, stabilization of the Indonesian rupiah against the U.S. dollar strengthened overseas vendors' investment confidence in the country. Major mobile phone brandsSmartphone giants Oppo, Samsung, and Xiaomi dominate the current market. Together, Oppo and Samsung account for the largest market share, making up over ******* of the total market. While these brands continuously offer a diverse range of smartphone models with advanced technologies, the adoption of 5G devices lags behind 4G due to limited 5G connectivity in the country. This may lead to cautious approach on 5G investments, but it is expected that 5G phone adoption will slowly increase along with the infrastructure development.

More Italian smartphones use Android as an operating system than any other operating system, well ahead of iOS. As of Mar 2023, almost ** percent of Italian smartphones run on Android, ahead of the ** percent running on iOS.

Manufacturer shares in Europe

Statistics covering the market shares by operating system tend to show Android in a commanding position, simply due to the sheer number of manufacturers creating android devices. At the European level, the market share held by Apple, and the largest two manufacturers of Android-based devices, are more even. During the first quarter of 2021, ** percent of devices shipped in Europe were Samsung devices, ** percent were Apple devices, and ** percent were Xiaomi devices. Shipments of Huawei devices have been significantly reduced following restrictions on the relationship between themselves and Google.

Google Play Store activity in Italy   

Figures covering downloads from the Google Play Store, the app marketplace for Android devices, provide insight into how Android devices are used in Italy. As of April 2021, the second-hand fashion app Vinted was the app Italians downloaded the most, registering almost *** thousand downloads. Other popular apps included Crash Bandicoot and Telegram as well as other gaming and shopping apps. Coin Master generated more revenue than any other app during April 2021, bringing in close to *** million U.S. dollars . In fact, all the highest-grossing apps in Italy that month were gaming apps.

In the second quarter of 2024, Apple iOS was one of the main mobile operating systems in Italy. In that quarter, iOS **** was the most popular version of the operating system, occupying over ** percent of the mobile OS market in the country.  Apple and Samsung at the top of the Italian smartphone market As one of the main segments of the consumer electronics industry in Italy, the smartphone market was forecast to generate a revenue of just under ten billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Apple and Samsung are the leaders of the Italian smartphone market, controlling almost ** and ** percent of the market in 2023, respectively. Meanwhile, other vendors have been acquiring larger shares of the industry, including Huawei and Oppo, catering to the needs of an ever-growing number of smartphone users.

Android is the leading mobile OS What makes our smartphones so fast, advanced, and powerful? Their operating systems, namely, the software on which the devices rely that allow users to perform all sorts of actions, including navigating the web and listening to music. Over the decades, Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS have established themselves as the leading mobile operating systems worldwide. Android being an open-source platform, many smartphone vendors have adopted it as their operating system, whereas iOS only works on Apple iPhones. As a result, Android holds a much larger share of the global mobile OS market, over ** percent, leaving iOS far behind.

In the first quarter of 2024, smartphones running on Apple's operating system iOS **** accounted for more than **** percent of all web traffic generated by iOS mobile phones in South America, making it the most popular version of the Apple iOS in the sub region.

As of June 2024, 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.

How many people have iPhones in the United States?

In 2022, there were more than 120 million iPhone users in the United States, accounting for nearly 49 percent of all smartphone users in the country. Overall, nearly 300 million people in the United States use a smartphone, which means that roughly 90 percent of the country’s population has access to a smartphone. Apple iPhone worldwide

As of 2022, Apple’s iOS operating system had a share of close to 60 percent of the mobile operating system market in the United States, the country with the highest market share both for the iPhone and the iOS operating system. Apple did not enjoy such a dominant market position in any other country, yet remained one of the top three smartphone vendors worldwide, selling more than 200 million iPhones every year. Taken together, the top three smartphone vendors Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi accounted for over half of the annual smartphone shipments during the second quarter of 2022.

iPhone is Apple’s main revenue source The iPhone is Apple’s main source of revenue, consistently generating around 50 percent of the company's sales worldwide. Apple does offer a multitude of other products across a variety of consumer electronics categories, including laptops, smartwatches, and tech-related services such as its App Store, Apple Pay, and cloud storage.

In 2024, Android held the largest share of the mobile operating system market in Vietnam, with a share of around **** percent. iOS ranked second with a market share of almost **** percent, followed by Samsung. Smartphone market in Vietnam: an overview Vietnam has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in Asia. According to a survey conducted in 2020, the mobile phone ownership share in the country reached over ** percent. Apple and Samsung have been in fierce competition over the leading position in the mobile vendor market in Vietnam in recent years. The two tech giants accounted for around two-thirds of the total mobile phone market share in the Southeast Asian country. Mobile internet and mobile apps in Vietnam Along with the popular usage of smartphones, mobile internet is widely available and accessible to the Vietnamese population. Additionally, consumers in Vietnam have been spending more and more on mobile apps in recent years. In 2023, consumer expenditure on mobile apps alone reached ***** million U.S. dollars in the country. Regardless of the operating system, game apps have been the most profitable among all app categories.

The Android smartphone operating system lost ground to iOS in the United States in the second half of 2019, falling from ** percent in ***********, to **** percent in December. Apple iOS’s market share grew by **** percent during the same period.

The rise of the smartphone

Smartphones have been around since the *****, but improvements in connection speed and the quality of devices has seen them become a part of daily life for an increasing number of people. The growth is expected to continue, with the number of smartphone users in the United States set to reach ****** million in 2024, an increase of ***** million users from 2020 onwards.

The massive rise in smartphone popularity is also a driving factor in changing the media landscape. Apps such as YouTube and Facebook reach ** percent of the massive audience, making it a vital medium for media outlets and advertisers alike.

COVID-19: Market bouncing back

The coronavirus (********) pandemic had a significant impact on smartphone sales in the United States, both in terms of supply and demand. Early signs show that the market is bouncing back, with growth coming in the third quarter of 2020. The third quarter of 2020 is the only to demonstrate growth so far, with sales climbing ** percent.