Android and iOS accounted for 92% of Q1 2013 smartphone shipments, as Windows Phone passes BlackBerry
Android and iOS accounted for 92.3 percent of all smartphones shipped during the first quarter of 2013, according to new figures published today by the International Data Corporation (IDC).
Context & Ripple Effects
IDC's first-quarter 2012 figures had already documented Android and iOS expanding their smartphone lead. The Q1 2013 data shows that lead has become a two-platform market, while Windows Phone has moved ahead of BlackBerry in shipment share.
The result lands as BlackBerry is introducing the Q5 for select markets and preparing BBM for iOS in summer 2013. Those moves pair a handset effort with a service that can reach beyond BlackBerry's own platform.
First-order effects
- Android and iOS command 92.3% of Q1 2013 smartphone shipments, concentrating handset-platform reach in the two ecosystems.
- Windows Phone's shipment-share lead over BlackBerry improves Microsoft's competitive standing, while BlackBerry faces a weaker position for its own handset platform.
Second-order effects
- BlackBerry's planned iOS BBM release gives its messaging service access to one of the two dominant smartphone platforms, reducing its dependence on BlackBerry handset shipments.
- Windows Phone and BlackBerry must make their devices and services compelling enough to win support alongside Android and iOS, whose combined reach is the default target for mobile distribution.
Third-order effects
- If this shipment concentration persists, app developers and service providers will increasingly prioritize Android and iOS, raising the cost for Windows Phone and BlackBerry to sustain platform-specific ecosystems.
- BlackBerry's simultaneous Q5 launch and BBM expansion point toward a split between the handset platform and the services built on it: services can seek scale across rival operating systems when a single-device ecosystem loses reach.
The trend: Smartphone competition is consolidating around Android and iOS, pushing smaller platforms to rely on differentiated hardware and cross-platform services to retain relevance.