Android vs. Apple Market Share: Leading Mobile Operating Systems (OS) (Mar 2023)

Android continues to reign in the global market with a 71.65% market share in Q1 2023, while iOS has 27.71% of the mobile operating system users.

Android is an open-source platform owned by Google that can be adapted and used by many smartphone brands. It is one of the reasons why Android rules the mobile operating system market. Meanwhile, iOS is developed for Apple products only.

Android started its top position in the global market in 2012, beating iOS by 3.37%. It has continued to dominate the mobile operating system market ever since. Over the last fourteen years, Android grew by 69.24%, while iOS’s market share has shown a decline of 6.3%.

The major mobile operating systems in the US are Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. In Q1 2023, iOS leads with 57.75% market share, while Android took 41.88% shares, a significant gap of 15.87%.

Financial Times reported that a strong trend of Android users migrating to iOS gives Apple an edge to rule the smartphone market in the US. The active installed base, which is the number of smartphones in use, also accounts for the large market share of Apple in the country.

iOS has dominated the US smartphone operating system market since 2009 up until the present. Despite dominating the operating system market share worldwide, Android only came second to Apple in the US. Android came close by 3.01% in 2015, but the gap widened again over the years.

In January 2023, Android dominated the mobile OS market share in the world with 71.65% shares, ahead by 43.9% compared to its competitor, Apple’s iOS. The Google Play Store, where Android users can download and purchase apps, generated US $47.8 billion in 2021, an increase of 9.1% from the previous year.

Google LLC, the search engine company in America, acquired Android from its developer Android Inc. in 2005. Initially developed for digital cameras, Android is now an operating system for smartphones, tablets, and many more devices.

With a $261 average selling price (ASP) in 2021, mobile brands that carry Android sell their smartphones to consumers cheaper than Apple, one of the significant reasons Android dominates in the smartphone market worldwide.

Android remained the top mobile operating system globally in the first quarter of 2023, with a 71.65% market share. It is currently ahead of iOS by 43.9% shares. It was consistent in the last six quarters, with its market share not falling below 70%.

Google’s Android has maintained its high market share for operating systems worldwide over the years. From 2.41% shares in 2009, it has consistently taken at least 70% market share since 2017 up to the present.

In 2019, it generated its highest-ever share, with 75.47% shares. Around 1.3 billion Android devices were shipped that year. In 2021, 83.32% of mobile devices sold had the Android operating system installed.

In 2023, Google’s Android operating system generated a 41.85% market share, coming in second at 15.93% shares behind iOS. These mobile operating systems are the main competitors in America.

In the United States, Android’s market share fell 2.44% in Q1 2023 compared to the previous quarter. Android had 44.32% shares in Q4 of 2022.

In the second quarter of 2022, Samsung, the leading company that manufactures Android devices globally, garnered a 30% market share of smartphone sales in the United States.

Although Android is only the second most popular mobile operating system in the US, its market share has stayed at 40% over the last ten years.

Apple’s iOS mobile operating system held around 27.71% of the global smartphone market share in January 2023. It is lagging behind Android by 43.89% shares. Android has continued to dominate the operating system market share at 71.65% shares.

iOS generated a 27.71% market share for Q1 2023, which falls by about 0.75% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Q3 2022. Apple’s operating system in Q1 2023, however, saw a 0.13% increase from the previous quarter.

Over the previous six quarters, iOS had the highest market share of 28.66% in Q4 2021. This quarter also reported a significant increase in iPhone production from Q1 2018 to Q1 2022.

iOS shows a slight increase in Q1 2022 due to high demand for the iPhone 13, the flagship device of the year in the premium segment, and the launch of the iPhone SE, which provides a budget-friendly option to iOS users. However, data show a drop beginning in Q2 2022.

The largest market share of Apple iOS was way back in 2009 with 34.01%, beating Android by 27.85% worldwide. However, Apple’s iOS started coming up second to Android starting from 2011 onwards. iOS had its lowest market share in 2016, with 19.29%.

In January 2023, iOS generated a 57.78% market share in the US, leading by 15.9% shares against Android at 41.88%. More than half of smartphone users in the US own iPhones.

There’s been a slight dip in iOS’ market share in the US for Q1 2023. This comes after a continuous increase from the last four quarters before 2023. The highest quarterly growth for iOS in the US in the last six quarters is 1.32% in Q3 2022. Shipment of Apple iPhones for the third quarter of 2022 was at 51.9 million units worldwide, an increase of 7.3 million devices from the previous quarter.

Apple’s iOS has remained the leading operating system in the US since 2009. Android couldn’t outperform iOS in the country throughout the years, even though it continues to dominate worldwide. The largest market share of iOS, accounting for 59.54% of shares, was in 2020. It was the year when the iPhone 7 became one of the most popular phone models.