PhoneArena is looking for new authors! To view all available positions, click here.

Phone Links

more » more »
  • Home
  • ›
  • News
  • ›
  • Android made up 86% of Q4 smartphone shipments in China, iOS was 12%

Android made up 86% of Q4 smartphone shipments in China, iOS was 12%

Posted: , by Michael H.

Categories:

Share:

Discuss 17
Android made up 86% of Q4 smartphone shipments in China, iOS was 12%
China is a huge smartphone market and growing at quite a rapid clip, but more amazing than the size of the market in China is the relative lack of mobile platform competition in the region. New data from Strategy Analytics says that 86% of smartphone shipments in Q4 2012 were Android devices, and a mere 12% were iOS. And just in case you don't want to bother with the math, that means only 2% of all smartphone shipments in Q4 in China were not either Android or iOS.

To be fair though, because this is China, a large number of the Android devices are non-Google Androids (NGAs), meaning that they don't come with Google Apps (Gmail, Maps, Calendar, Talk, etc) or the Google Play Store. Because they are Android forks, they share the same open source bottom layer that you'd find on any Android device, but instead of a Google top layer, users get a forked experience like you'd find on Amazon's Kindle Fire, or Barnes & Noble's Nook. Depending on how you like to count Android installs that may mean something, or it may not. We're a bit torn on the subject, because Google's layer does add quite a lot to Android, but even without Google, Android has quite a lot to offer. 

Overall, mainland China saw smartphone shipments grow 64% year-over-year to reach 53 million units in Q4. Given the overwhelmingly large chunk of that taken up by Android and iOS, it doesn't give a lot of hope to competing platforms like BlackBerry, Windows Phone, or Sailfish, which Jolla specifically said would be targeted to China.

Share:

Discuss17

17 Comments

  • Options
    Close




Want to comment? Please login or register.

1. networkdood posted on 31 Jan 2013, 17:55

Hmmm, I wonder if APPLE would create a specially made, and cheap version of the iphone, just for CHINA? It could be worth it.

Reply

2. networkdood posted on 31 Jan 2013, 17:56

say 256MB RAM, 3.0" screen with 123 pixel density, somewhat a fat phone with breakable glass and 4GB of storage.

Reply

4. sorcio46 posted on 31 Jan 2013, 18:07 6

this phone in 2013 is even too low for the low range smartphones

Reply

9. Bernoulli posted on 31 Jan 2013, 19:45 6

Yeah, and it's called the iphone 5

Reply

17. sithvenger (banned) posted on 01 Feb 2013, 12:48 1

Now that was a dumb comment

Reply

6. PhoneArenaUser posted on 31 Jan 2013, 18:37 7

I'm pretty sure that any cheap Apple phone won't be popular! Because people who loves to show off won't buy cheap phone even if it has Apple logo on it! Why? Because according to this kind of Apple lovers - CHEAP IS NOT COOL!
Other people who loves technologies also won't buy it because I'm pretty sure that cheap Apple phone will be even more boring and outdated than usual iPhone. ;)

Reply

11. networkdood posted on 31 Jan 2013, 21:28

could make an exception in China...they have lots of people there...

Reply

14. anywherehome posted on 01 Feb 2013, 02:48 2

they can not.....what would you do with cheap iPhone? even that overpriced iPhone you can not
1) plug to PC
2) bluetooth transfer
3) dictate in iTunes
4) no widgets, just an iConboard
5) always worse HW than competition
6) zero innovations

so what would you do with any cheap iPhone, a cheap iConboard?

Apple must stay "exclusive" for some people or they lost its exclusivity and then "why to buy an iConboard when every one can afford it?"

so even 12 % is too much

Reply

3. joey_sfb posted on 31 Jan 2013, 17:59 2

i visited China recently, most people i run into use an Android smartphone with a screen size of 4.3" and above. Their phone have local chinese branding not heard outside China.

Google open source effect on full swing there. Most phone don't have Google apps but were able to run Android Apps side loaded i think.. LOL!!

Reply

5. flower99 (banned) posted on 31 Jan 2013, 18:15 4

i still count kindle fire an android device tho :)

Reply

7. Aeires (unregistered) posted on 31 Jan 2013, 19:03

Agreed, especially when I can download apps from the Amazon App Store on my N4 & N7.

Reply

12. networkdood posted on 31 Jan 2013, 21:29

Amazon, take my money :-)

Reply

8. rusticguy posted on 31 Jan 2013, 19:39 1

So how much is WINDOWS? 1%?

Reply

10. D_Tech-tive posted on 31 Jan 2013, 20:49

It will only get worse for Apple watch and see!

Time to get your nose out the air and put your pinky down Apple fans! LOL

Reply

13. dorianb posted on 31 Jan 2013, 23:50

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL @ THE FRUIT.

Reply

16. sithvenger (banned) posted on 01 Feb 2013, 12:47 1

I don't think you'll see forked versions of iOS. China is android land.

Reply
* Some comments have been hidden, because they don't meet the discussions rules.

Want to comment? Please login or register.

Hot Phones

  • Samsung Galaxy S4Samsung Galaxy S4
  • Apple iPhone 5Apple iPhone 5
  • Samsung GALAXY Note IISamsung GALAXY Note II
  • HTC OneHTC One
  • Sony Xperia ZSony Xperia Z
  • Google Nexus 4Google Nexus 4
  • LG Optimus GLG Optimus G
  • Nokia Lumia 920Nokia Lumia 920