The worldwide smartphone market grew 1.1% year over year in 2016Q3, with 363.2 million shipments, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Shipments grew 5.2% QoQ, compared to the 345.5 million units in the second quarter of 2016. IDC expects to see a noticeable slowdown in smartphone shipments in 2016 with China showing a more mature growth pattern. Android dominated the market with 86.8% share in 2016Q3. Samsung continued its global leadership despite the Galaxy Note 7 recall.
IDC: Smartphone OS Market Share 2016, 2015 Chart
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Period Android iOS Windows Phone Others
2015Q4 79.6% 18.7% 1.2% 0.5%
2016Q1 83.5% 15.4% 0.8% 0.4%
2016Q2 87.6% 11.7% 0.4% 0.3%
2016Q3 86.8% 12.5% 0.3% 0.4%
Source: IDC, Nov 2016
Android dominated the smartphone market with a share of 86.8%. Samsung, the #1 contributor remained in the top spot, despite the high-profile recall of the Galaxy Note 7. Android share has risen both YoY and QoQ, with strong growth in unit shipments by other players such as Huawei, OPPO, and vivo. This quarter’s launch highlights included Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as well as Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL.
iOS saw its market share for 2016Q3 grow by 12.7% QoQ with 45.5 million shipments. The iPhone 6S followed by its newest model, the iPhone 7 were the best-selling models this quarter. The iPhone SE and 7 Plus along with its older models accounted for 53.1% of the total Apple shipments this quarter.
Windows Phone experienced a QoQ decline of 35.2% with a total of 974.4 thousand units shipped this quarter. With Microsoft’s focus on business users, the decline in the consumer market is expected to continue.