Android and iOS tighten smartphone stranglehold

Windows Phone and other marginal players can't get a look in, according to latest IDC data

The smartphone market is proving a vicious circle for smaller OSes such as Windows Phone as developers and manufacturers throw all their weight behind the increasingly dominant Android and iOS.

According to IDC, the two big ecosystems saw their combined market share swell to 96.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, up from 92.6 per cent a year earlier.

In contrast, closest challenger Windows Phone's market share fell from 3.4 to 2.5 per cent year on year as shipments sank 9.4 per cent to 7.4 million. Shipments of BlackBerry devices nose-dived by more than three quarters to 1.5 million, handing the embattled vendor 0.5 per cent market share.

"It's been an incredible upward slog for other OS players – Windows Phone has been around since 2010 but has yet to break the five per cent share mark, while the backing of the world's largest smartphone player, Samsung, has not boosted Tizen into the spotlight," said IDC senior research manager Melissa Chau.

"The biggest stumbling block is around getting enough partnerships in play – not just phone manufacturers but also developers, many of which are smaller outfits looking to minimise development efforts by sticking to the two big ecosystems."

Total smartphone shipments shot up 25.3 per cent in Q2 to 301.3 million, breaking the 300 million barrier for the first time.

Android shipments grew by 33.3 per cent to 255.3 million as the OS reaped huge gains within emerging markets courtesy of the strength of its OEM partners in the sub-$200 segment. Samsung accounted for 29.3 per cent of Android-powered shipments, with Coolpad, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Xiamoi and ZTE all jockeying for position behind the Korean vendor.

Meanwhile, iOS shipments rose by 11.7 per cent to 35.2 million.