Apple's iOS is losing ground to Android when it comes to smartphone operating system market share, according to a new report from research firm IDC. Apple's share of worldwide smartphone shipments dropped to 13.2% during the second quarter of 2013, while Android climbed to 79.3%.
During the same quarter last year, Apple held 16.6% of the market, while Android held 69.1%. Despite its slight loss of share, iOS remains the number two operating system, with Android and iOS combined making up 92.5% of shipments.
"The iOS decline in the second quarter aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone," says Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "Without a new product launch since the debut of the iPhone 5 nearly a year ago, Apple's market share was vulnerable to product launches from the competition. But with a new iPhone and revamped iOS coming out later this year, Apple is well-positioned to re-capture market share."
Windows Phone continues to gain market share as well, coming in at 3.7% during the second quarter of 2013, up 77.6% from its 3.1% share during Q2 2012.
Other operating systems are consistently losing ground to the top three operating systems with BlackBerry OS representing 2.9% of shipments, Linux at 0.8%, and Symbian at 0.2%.
Last week, IDC released its estimates on worldwide mobile phone sales, showing slowing growth for Apple's iPhone. Apple shipped 31.2 million iPhones during the second quarter of 2013, representing 13.1% of the market. Samsung shipped 72.4 million, for a market share of 30.4%.
Those numbers may shift in the coming quarters as Apple gears up to launch its next generation iPhone and a new low-cost iPhone, possibly as early as September.
