Apple retakes mobile OS lead, ships 366k iOS devices a day
updated 06:10 am EST, Wed January 19, 2011
The battle for mobile OS supremacy hots up
Based on a quick analysis of the sales figures announced during Apple’s Fiscal Q1 2011 results call, Apple has retaken the mobile OS lead over Android. Apple is currently shipping approximately 366,000 iOS devices each day made up by combined sales of iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. Recently Apple and Google have been leap-frogging each other, as it was only in September last year that Apple was activating 230,000 iOS devices versus Google’s 160,000 activations.
According to comments made by Andy Rubin in December last year, Google was activating 300,000 Android devices a day and had taken the lead. But it seems that this is currently no longer the case.
According to another estimate, Apple will also sell its 100 millionth iPhone this year.
With Android tablets and media players beginning to hit the market in earnest over the next few months, and Apple’s iPad and iPhone also due for revamps in the next few months, it is shaping up to be another exciting year in the battle for the mobile OS supremacy.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2010
Matter of time...
I would think it is only a matter of time that Android will permanently overtake iOS. Regardless of this, iOS is will continue to grow (only slower) as the appeal of the iOS ecosystem for both customers and developers is overwhelming. No fragmentation, no bloatware, easy seemless upgrades, longer support for older handsets, etc.
On the other hand, any one of BB, WebOS, Baidu, Meego, Symbian, WP7 could very well permanently dilute Android leaving not iOS vs Android but iOS vs the rest. If this happens then iOS is the eventual winner of the smartphone industry.