The latest numbers from research firm IDC reveal that the smartphone market continues to be a largely two-horse race between iOS and Android, which accounted for 19.7% and 76.6% market share in the fourth quarter respectively. The mobile operating systems combined to dominate Windows Phone, BlackBerry and all other platforms with 96.3% market share during the three-month period ending December.
iOS increased 2.2 percentage points to 19.7% during the fourth quarter over its 15.1% market share in the year-ago quarter, while Android experienced a marginal year-over-year decline as its market share slipped from 78.2% to 76.6%. Apple shipped a record-breaking 192.7 million iPhones during 2014 on the strength of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, while overall Android device shipments on the year surpassed the 1 billion mark.
Android and iOS continue to dominate the smartphone operating system race, resulting in a smaller battle between Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Firefox OS and less popular platforms for third place. Windows Phone and BlackBerry were the closest runner-ups to iOS and Android, claiming 2.8% and 0.4% market share in the fourth quarter respectively to close out 2014. All other platforms held 0.6% market share on the year.
Thursday November 5, 2026 12:59 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is launching five new products on Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models.
The following new products will be available from today:
iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip
iMac with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen
16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
Friday November 6, 2026 3:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
When the iPhone Duo launched, we shared a list of some of the fun apps developers created for the new form factor. Two weeks out, developers are continuing to come up with fresh ideas, so we thought we'd share some of our favorites.
Games
Marbles Unhinged ($2.99) - Marbles Unhinged is a marble maze designed for the Duo. When you fold it, the floor turns into a ramp. If you stand the top...
Apple plans to merge the iPhone's Action button with the Camera Control starting next year, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker claimed that a single press of the combined button would open the camera, while a long press would trigger the function assigned to the Action button. They explicitly clarified that the dedicated Action button would ...
Apple's "Crapware" doesn't interrupt my web browsing, or auto-install more crapware when I click the "No" button, or beg for money, or insist that a virus will empty my bank account.
Apple's "crapware" plays music, shows me stock prices and the photos I took, and tells me what the weather is like.
Profitability is sustainability. Google is losing money on Android, and especially if Samsung begins putting Tizen on the Galaxy line as has been repeatedly rumored, Android is in big trouble.
Hopefully your landlord raises your rent or your bank increases your mortgage interest rate so it can maintain sustainability. Ditto for your insurance company, power company, cable company, cell provider. And also your healthcare,and supermarket too. If we're going to brag about and support big profits, let's make it universal.
