At present, when most people think about smart phone Operating Systems they tend to think about Apple's iOS or about the reigning king of Operating Systems, Android, which is used by many big name smart phone manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC. However, according to IDC, Windows could end up taking second place in the world of OS over the next few years.
IDC claims that by around 2016 Windows could become the number two Operating System behind Android. The market share of Android, according to the reports, will fall from 61 percent to 53 percent in 2016. Apple's iOS is at around 20 percent at present and is expected to remain close to that level by 2016, with a possible slight fall. However, Windows is expected to enjoy a big jump in terms of market share, rising from just over 5 percent to close to 20 percent. RIM's BlackBerry Operating System, unsurprisingly, is expected to see further declines in terms of market share over the coming few years.
IDC analyst Kevin Restivo said: “The smartphone parade won’t be as lively this year as it has been in past. The mobile phone user transition from feature phones to smartphones will continue in a gradual but unabated fashion. Smartphone growth, however, will increasingly be driven by a triumvirate of smartphone operating systems, namely Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7.”
He added: “There will continue to be a market for BlackBerry OS-powered devices, despite Research In Motion’s current woes. This is true in emerging markets, for example, where users are looking for affordable messaging devices. However, the gulf between the BlackBerry OS and its primary competition will widen over the forecast as the mobile phone market becomes increasingly software/app-oriented and the ‘bring your own device’ enterprise trend proliferates.”
