iPhone projected to gain market share over next 4 years, but remain in 2nd place
A lot of things can change in just a year in the world of mobile communications, so predicting where the major smartphone platforms will be four years down the road is tricky. Nevertheless, BGR reports that the International Data Corporation has made its official predictions for how smartphone ownership trends will look in 2016, and surprisingly there isn't a whole lot of change.
According to the firm's data, the current smartphone market share looks like this:
Android: 68.3%
iOS: 18.8%
BlackBerry: 4.7%
Windows Phone 2.6%
Linux: 2.0%
Other: 3.6%
In 2016, the company believes the spread will look like this:
Android: 63.8%
iOS: 19.1%
Windows Phone 11.4%
BlackBerry: 4.1%
Linux: 1.5%
Other: 0.1%
As you can see, Android is projected to remain at the front of the pack, though it loses a bit of ground. iOS looks to remain in second place, picking up just a bit more of the market along the way. IDC expects Windows Phone will overtake BlackBerry and move into third place, while Linux and other options fall further behind.
These aren't exactly bold predictions, but the firm does note that if Apple decides to offer a lower-priced new model into the marketplace, things could change. It looks like we'll only have to wait four years to see if the predictions pan out.
