Think about where Android was just a mere four to five years ago, then think about where Android as a mobile platform is now. The mobile industry is a fast paced one and for some it can be a struggle to keep up. Android is certainly not one of these platforms though as you may well already know. 2014 was their biggest year ever when it comes to sheer number of devices shipped, totaling an insane 1 billion handsets for the entire year. Compare that to Apple’s near 193 million(192.7)handsets throughout the entire year of 2014 and you can see that Apple has a long way to go before they’ll be able to reach those same numbers.
This just goes to show that Android, although not raking in as much cash from app purchases, is still at least a few laps ahead of any other mobile platform regarding number of handsets shipped and overall global smartphone market share, mainly because they have their hand in every cookie jar imaginable when you think about how many OEM’s manufacturer devices with the platform on board. Pair this with Google’s intent to get as many Android smartphones in the hands of emerging market consumers as possible and you have a recipe for success in the overall number of devices that will ultimately be shipped running the mobile OS.
What Google has realized is that emerging markets are big business. There’s a ton of growth in areas where super high-end smartphones with a hefty price tag are not quite attainable for most of the people that reside in the region. This is why Google and the OEM’s that manufacture Android devices have tapped into these markets with low cost alternatives to Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy S and Galaxy Note line of smartphones, like devices you see from Xiaomi, ZTE, Micromax and others. These decisions have led Google and the Android platform here, to where they’ve reached an unprecedented 1 billion handsets shipped this year, which is no small feat and really displays that the Android platform is not likely to be slowing down in the immediate future. In direct relation to the number of handsets shipped with the Android OS on board, Android was reported to hold over 81%(81.2% exactly)of the smartphone market share in 2014, which is another astounding accomplishment. Perhaps Apple is content with holding onto the group of loyal consumers that they do, but if they ever hope to relieve Android from it’s title as the reigning mobile OS, they’ll need to do more than charge near double or more for their handsets and bank on higher profits from App Store sales.