Since Google acquired Android Inc. in August 2005 the company has made every effort to make the operating system the technology of choice for mobile devices. Marketed as the alternative to Apple’s iOS and as a system that is both flexible and upgradeable – a must-have for mobile device manufacturers – Android devices now account for nearly two-thirds of smartphones sold every year and is now has the largest installed base of any operating system, far more than even Microsoft’s Windows platform. What new developments has there been in the Android world recently? Is the system performing as best it can?
Let’s first look at market share, the key indicator of the success of an operating system. In the fourth quarter of 2014 Android device shipments within the smartphone market accounted for 32%, as supposed to Apple’s 27.7% (worldwide, the two systems accounted for 95.6% of the global market!) Evidently, Google is winning the smartphone OS battle, the sheer number of manufacturers using the system (many of these being cut-price, budget smartphones geared towards the masses) making for big sales.
The situation is also helped along by the fact that many developers will naturally release a version of their product for both operating systems. As such, if you’re not a lover of Apple devices you can quite easily switch to another system and device. With support for older Apple products falling, this is also a pretty huge impetus for early iOS adopters who are bored with the state of affairs.
Android has also been helped along massively in recent months with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6, a smartphone that was received incredibly well upon its release. S6 users are already reporting of the many things they can get out of their new-fangled devices, and the hype surrounding the product has likely done Google some serious favours following the release of the iPhone 6.
Part of the secret behind Android’s success has been that it is so infinitely adaptable to whatever device is using it. Wearables, televisions, phones and computers, among many others, all use the system, speaking for it’s dependability. Will Google’s system stand the test of time? Only time will tell, but we have a feeling things are sunny in the Android camp.
Image via: Wikimedia
I love tech things, especially the way they infiltrate our lives without us even realising. I don’t like having to explain how a gadget works to every member of my family though!
