Research company IHS has forecast that cumulative global shipments of smartphones using the Android operating system will exceed 1 billion in 2013, just five years after the mobile OS was launched. Google recently confirmed it’s activated 500 million Android devices and is now activating 1.3 million new devices every day.
Annual Android shipments this year are expected to hit 357 million this year, rising to 451 million in 2013 according to IHS. This will give Android a cumulative total of 1.1 billion units by the end of 2013. The company expects the total of Apple iOS devices to reach 527 million cumulative shipments in 2013, passing the 1 billion level in 2015.
Daniel Gleeson, mobile analyst for IHS, said “The Androids are taking over the world of smartphones. We expect the Android operating system to become the first to reach the milestone of 1 billion shipments during its lifetime. For Google, this accomplishment highlights the success of its growth strategy for Android, which is based on providing the operating system as an open-source platform to third-party smartphone brands free of charge. Google hopes to make significant revenues from mobile advertisements and other services. Such an open-source model means that Google offers handset makers the ability to customize Android easily, and by also eliminating licensing fees, is greatly encouraging adoption among smartphone handset manufacturers.”
The combined share of Apple and Google-powered smartphones is expected to account for 76% of the market this year.
[IHS iSuppli Wireless Communications Smartphone Report]