According to the latest figures from research firm IDC, 68.1 percent of smartphones shipped in the second quarter of this year were powered by the Android operating system — a jump of more than 15 percent since last quarter — driven primarily by Korean manufacturer Samsung.
Samsung, which shipped more Android smartphones in the quarter than the next seven Android vendors combined, has cut into Apple’s share of the market significantly, with iOS dropping from 23 percent to 16.9 percent during the second quarter.
As Android and iOS expand, powering a record total of 85 percent of devices in Q2, other operating systems are finding it more difficult to maintain. RIM maintains third place despite its financial problems. BlackBerry OS shipped on 4.8 percent of devices, down from 11.5 percent share in Q2 2011.
Symbian fares worse, having fallen from 16.9 percent last year to just 4.4 percent in the latest figures, a drop of almost 75 percent. Meanwhile, the combined share of Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 sits at 3.5 percent, an increase of 115% since last year, with many people putting their purchasing decisions on hold due to the release of Windows Phone 8 on the horizon.