Rise of the Android: 1 billion devices shipped in 2014

Globally, the shipping of mobile phones has passed the one billion mark for annual shipments with 1. 28 billion devices in total passion from OEMs to retailers and carries for sale, in which, Android smartphones have continued to dominate, accounting for more than one billion handsets.

That’s according to the latest figures from research firm Strategy Analytics.

This is for the first time that any platform has surpassed the one billion mark for shipments, claiming in the process 81 percent of the whole market. Things were not so rosy for Apple, which accounted for 15% of the market in 2014, only shipping 193 million units.

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What would have been more insightful would be if Strategy Analytics broke these figures up into brands, a breakdown that would be important for Android is its unlike Apple is across many brands.

“Apple iOS remains [Android’s] only serious threat for now,” writes Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics.

In 2014, Apple iOS shipped 192.7 million smartphones worldwide, capturing 15% marketshare. This due to the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models which helped Apple’s growth and popularity.

Aiding Android in its triumphs is its many brands that reach both the high-end and low-end market.

“Global smartphone shipments grew 30% annually from 1.0 billion units in 2013 to a record 1.3-billion in 2014. Emerging markets, such as China and Indonesia, drove the industry’s growth last year and they will continue to do so through 2015,” writes Linda Sui, director at Strategy Analytics. That’s an area that Microsoft has yet to figure out how to capture.

Windows, though it dominates PCs, continues to perform dismally on mobile. Woody Oh, a director at Strategy Analytics, says that “Microsoft still lacks multiple major hardware partners to build its phones, while Microsoft’s retail presence in important countries like China remains tiny.”