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

Android continues to reign in the global market with a 69.44% market share in the fourth quarter of 2023, while iOS has 29.89% 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.

In the year 2023, Android maintained its lead in operating system market share at 70.27%, followed by Apple at 29.01%. 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. From 2009 to present, Android grew by more than 67%, while iOS’s market share has shown a decline of around 5%.

The major mobile operating systems in the US are Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. In Q4 2023, iOS leads with a quarterly market share of 57.11% market share, while Android took 42.41%, a significant gap of 14.70%.

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.

The current yearly market share of iOS in the US is 57.92%, followed by Android with 41.66%. 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 in 2015 with only a 3.01% difference, but the gap widened again over the years.

In Q4 2023, Android dominated the mobile OS market share in the world with 69.44% market share, ahead by 39.55% compared to its competitor, Apple’s iOS. The Google Play Store, where Android users can download and purchase apps, generated US $42.3 billion in 2022, a decline of 11.69% 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 fourth quarter of 2023, with a 69.44% market share. It is currently ahead of iOS by 39.55%. Compared to its market share in the fourth quarter of 2022, Android declined by 2.31%. It was mostly consistent in the last six quarters, with its market share not falling below 70% except for Q2 and Q4 2023.

Android’s yearly market share in 2023 is at 70.27%, a slight decline of 1.20% from 2022. Google’s Android has maintained its high market share for operating systems worldwide over the years. It has consistently taken at least 70% market share since 2017 up to the present.

In 2019, it generated its highest-ever market share, with a 75.47% brand share. 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 Q4 2023, Google’s Android operating system generated a 42.41% market share in the US, coming in second and 14.70% behind iOS. These mobile operating systems are the main competitors in America.

In the United States, Android’s quarterly market share is at 42.41%, a decline of 1.91% compared to 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.

Android’s yearly market share in America is at 41.66%, a decline of 1.28% from 2022. 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 29.89% of the global smartphone market share in Q4 2023. It is lagging behind Android by 39.55% market share. Android has continued to dominate the operating system market share at 69.44%.

iOS generated a 29.89% market share for the fourth quarter of 2023, which is an increase of about 2.25% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. Over the previous six quarters, iOS had the highest market share of 30.25% in Q2 2023.

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 shows a drop in Q2 2022

Apple’s yearly market share in 2023 is 29.01%, a 1.16% increase compared to 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.

In the most recent quarter of 2023, iOS generated a 57.11% market share in the US, leading by 14.70% against Android at 42.41%. More than half of smartphone users in the US own iPhones.

At 57.11%, iOS’ current quarterly market share in the US saw an increase of 1.80% compared to the fourth quarter of 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.

The current yearly market share for iOS in the US is at 57.92%, an increase of 1.18% compared to 2022. 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 the US mobile operating system market, was in 2020. It was the year when the iPhone 7 became one of the most popular phone models.