Range of devices help keep Android on top
As the Android OS was introduced to the market, it gained the support of several smartphone manufacturers. Sony, Samsung and HTC, all eventually built phones designed specifically for the Android system. This has aided Android significantly in gaining market share, comfortably holding the title of most used smartphone operating system since 2010.
Since then, Android has consistently distanced itself from the competitors, increasing its market share over the years. By January 2021, Android held a smartphone operating system market share of more than 70 percent. Android is forecast to maintain its leadership in the market, projected to account for about 87 percent of all smartphones shipments worldwide by 2023.
Google continues to develop Android
Google regularly releases new versions of Android to take full advantage of the potential offered by powerful flagship devices and to continue improving the overall user experience. As of January 2021, 10.0 was the most widely used version of Android in operation, followed by Pie 9.0. Older devices tend to run previous Android versions, as they cannot run the latest versions in a stable manner.
Following success in the smartphone market, Android expanded its operating system to tablets. Android tablets were introduced to compete with Apple’s iPad, a pioneer product in this market. Due to the lack of quality applications for Android tablets, Android did not grow as strongly at first as in the smartphone market but managed to establish itself as the leading tablet operating system in late 2012. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, Android has a 58.5 percent share of the tablet market.
Android Apps and the Google Play Store
The increasing popularity of Android devices is supported by the app store, the largest app store in the world with 2.87 million apps available for download as of December 2020. Telegram is the most downloaded Android app as of January 2021, while Coin Master is the Android app that generates the most revenue, bringing in 104.15 million U.S. dollars in January 2021.
