In 2013’s Q4, Apple’s iOS squeezed competitors

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In 2013’s Q4, Apple’s iOS squeezed competitors

Apple’s iOS smartphone operating system gained ground in the United States in the final quarter of 2013 as the share of the market served by the platforms of Google, Microsoft and BlackBerry shrank.

The market share of Google’s Android operating system slipped 0.3 percentage point to 51.5 percent as Apple gained 1.2 percentage points to end the year with almost 42 percent of the market, ComScore said in a statement yesterday. BlackBerry, which recently hired Foxconn Group to build its devices, fell 0.4 percentage point to 3.4 percent, while Microsoft declined 0.2 percentage point to 3.1 percent.

Device makers are battling for market share as more consumers switch to Internet-connected smartphones like Apple’s iPhone or Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy. The release of Apple’s new high-end iPhone 5S and the cheaper 5C for the holidays put pressure on competing phones at multiple price points, Bloomberg Industries analysts John Butler and Joshua Yatskowitz said in a Jan. 31 report.

Google agreed to sell its phone-making unit Motorola Mobility to Lenovo Group for $2.9 billion last week. The Mountain View, California-based company’s Android system runs on devices made by multiple companies including Samsung, LG Electronics and HTC. Apple’s iPhone is the only smartphone running the company’s operating system.

The iPhone is the most popular phone in the United States with 41.8 percent of users. Samsung ended the year with 26.1 percent.

Bloomberg
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