The latest data from ABI Research shows that 10.9 million Windows Phone handsets were shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter, a 104% gain from the 5.3 million shipped in the 2012 fourth quarter. That was a gain of 19% sequentially from the third quarter of 2013. Despite the huge gain in shipments, Windows Phone still makes up just 4% of the global smartphone market.
Android models (including forked versions of the OS) shipped 221.5 million units in the period from October through December, to lead the way with a 77% share of the smartphone market in the period. Year-over-year, Android's growth amounted to 50%. On a sequential basis, that is growth of 20%. The 221.5 million Android units shipped included 71.1 million units of devices powered by a forked (non-Google) version of the OS, used on low priced phones offered in China. Those phones represented 25% of the global smartphone market while the Google Services version of Android captured 52%.
"Apple continues to avoid a low cost smartphone product to target these markets, focusing instead on its traditional premium segment, where growth is harder to achieve due to fast approaching market saturation."-Nick Spencer, senior practice director, mobile devices, ABI Research
Apple's iOS shipped 51 million units in the period to control 18% of the worldwide smartphone market. That works out to a 7% gain year over year and a strong 51% gain sequentially. BlackBerry 10 shipped only1.1 million units in the fourth quarter while the older BlackBerry OS 7 powered 4.2 million phones that were shipped during the three months. Shocking was the 42% quarter-on-quarter growth for the older BlackBerry OS.
Windows Phone doubled the number of units it shipped year over year in Q4
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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