Record market share for Android, bad news for BlackBerry and Windows Phone

Android now has 88 per cent market share

Android enjoyed a record 88 per cent share of the global smartphone operating system market in the third quarter, with BlackBerry and Windows Phone "all but disappearing".

Figures from Strategy Analytics released today show that Android handsets claimed 88 per cent of all shipments in Q3, the highest market share ever for the Google-owned operating system.

A total of 328.6 million Android-powered phones were shipped in the three months ending September, according to the firm, a 10.6 per cent increase compared with this time last year.

"Android's leadership of the global smartphone market looks unassailable at the moment," said Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics.

"Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide."

However, Oh warned that things might not be so easy for Google in the future owing to the "overcrowding" of the platform, and even suggested that the firm's own Pixel smartphones could cause Android's popularity to slip.

"Several challenges remain for Google. The Android platform is getting overcrowded with hundreds of manufacturers, few Android device vendors make profits, and Google's new Pixel range is attacking its own hardware partners that made Android popular in the first place," Oh said.

Apple's iOS slipped from 13.6 per cent in 2015 to 12.1 per cent in the past quarter.

Meanwhile BlackBerry and Windows Phone combined accounted for just 0.3 per cent of the market in Q3, down from 2.3 per cent this time last year.

Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, said: "BlackBerry and Microsoft Windows Phone have all but disappeared due to strategic shifts, while Tizen and other emerging platforms softened as a result of limited product portfolios and modest developer support."