Android is one of the two most popular mobile OS (operating systems) in the world, with a couple of billion active users across 190+ different countries.
The Android operating system was developed by Andy Rubin as an alternative to Palm OS and iPhone. It became an instant favorite amongst smartphone users and for mobile phone manufacturers in 2010. With global titans such as Samsung and LG running all their phones on Android, it didn’t take long before it became the most popular mobile OS.
It was so popular that they reached 1 billion active users around the world back in 2014. As the operating system grew, so did Google’s control over it too. While manufacturer partners customized the platform as they saw fit, Google slowly added compulsory features and services that ensured they always had the advantage through their suite of apps.
Android remains as one of the most dominant mobile phone operating system in the world right now, even surpassing Apple in the United States and Japan.
But what are the numbers right now and what are Android statistics telling us about the entirety of its users, market share, and more?
We’ll find out in this article.
Key Android Statistics
- 1.43 billion smartphones were sold globally in 2021. 24% of smartphones sold were Apple products [1], [2].
- Smartphone penetration in 2020 hit 78.05% and is expected that 87% of mobile phone users will own a smartphone [3], [4].
- Smartphone sales in the USA was projected to reach $73 billion in 2021 [5].
- Google Android and Microsoft Windows are the biggest operating systems for smartphone and desktop/laptop with 2 billion users and 1.6 billion users respectively [12].
- There’s about an estimated 4 billion Internet users around the world [12].
- In the USA, 133 million people use an Android smartphone or Android mobile phone [13].
- Google Play Store recorded 111.3 billion downloads in 2021 in contrast with iOS only having 32.3 billion. 55 billion downloads were gaming apps [15].
- Users between the ages of 18 and 24 years old spent 112.6 hours a month on average on Android apps [15].
- 95% of Android users are aged between 18 years old and 49 years old [16].
Android Revenue Statistics
- Smartphone vendors sold a total of 1.43 billion smartphones globally in 2021. In the 4th quarter of that year, around 24% of smartphones sold were Apple mobile phones [1], [2].
- Smartphone penetration around the world has reached 78.05% in 2020. It’s predicted that 87% of all mobile phone users will own a smartphone, which is a 27% increase from that of 2010[3], [4].
- Sales of smartphones in the USA were projected around $73 billion in 2021, compared to $18 billion in 2010 [5].
- Global sales of smartphones is predicted to increase in every major region
- Android phones sold worldwide had an average selling price (ASP) of $261 in 2020, which was a 4.5% increase from 2019 [6].
- As of April 2021, the 10.0 Android Operating System had a 19.49% share amongst all tablet Android devices globally. The 9.0 Pie version follows with 13.26% of the Android tablet market [7].
- As of January 2022, the Android mobile OS 11.0 had a share of 38% amongst all Android mobile devices globally. The older 10.0 version follows with 26% and the even older Pie 9.0 in third place with 12.48% for that period of observance [8].
- There are 2.65 million apps right now in the Google Play Store as of June 2022 [9].
- Mobile gaming apps is the most downloaded Android category globally. Dessert DIY is the most downloaded app in the Google Play Store worldwide as of June 22. Dessert DIY generated 22 million downloads from Android Users, followed by Bucket Crusher with 21.5 million downloads [10].
- 97% of mobile apps in the Google Play Store are available for free, and only 3% of apps require payment of any kind [11].
How Many Android Users Are There?
- Microsoft Windows and Google Android are the two operating systems with the most number of users (1.6 billion and 2 billion users respectively). To date, there are more than 4 billion internet users around the world [12].
- There are 133 million Android users in the USA alone. The numbers were also surprising as it was only 87 million back in 2014 and now at 133.4 million in 2022 [13].
- For age groups, Android is the most popular mobile OS amongst people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old with an 83% market share [14].
Android Usage Stats
- Close to 111.3 billion downloads were recorded from the Google Play Store by the end of 2021 while iOS only had 32.3 billion. 55 billion of those downloads were games [15].
- Users between the ages of 18 and 24 years old spent an average of 112.6 hours a month on apps, followed by users from the 25 to 34 age group with 102.4 hours [15].
- 95% of Android users belong are aged between 18 years and 49 years old [16].
- Samsung is the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. It’s predicted recently that the brand will ship out 276 million units by the end of 2022. Last year and in 2020, they had 263 million and 267 million units shipped out respectively [17].
- Apple is the second largest smartphone manufacturer and is predicted to ship out 243 million units globally by the end of 2022. In third place is Xiaomi with 220 million devices shipped out [17].
- Android was the leading mobile OS in January 2022 and retained a 70% market share while iOS only accounted for 25% of the mobile device market share globally. As of February 2022, Android still held 70.97% market share and iOS had 28.27% [18].
- Smartphones running Android OS accounted for 87% of the global market in 2019 and is projected to increase within the next few years. Apple’s iOS only retained 13% market share for that year of observation [19].
- Smartphone sales worldwide have peaked to 1.55 billion units in 2018, but gradually declined up to 2021 with 1.433 billion units [20].
- The costs of buying a new cellphone also decreased to $215 [21].
- Android sales are declining in China, while Europe, USA, and Japan continue to be the dominant markets for Android devices [22].
The decline of sales of Android devices and Android users in China can be attributed to the government’s move to ban most Google Apps because they don’t work within the country. Chinese mobile phone users are now going for local brands such as Oppo, Xiaomi, and LeEco to name a few.
China also banned other apps such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as the government doesn’t want any of the foreign tech companies to spy on their citizens. There are Chinese alternatives to the apps that the Chinese government has banned.
Wrap Up
The numbers are telling us that Android phones are here to stay, and that this mobile operating system is going to dominate the mobile phone market within the next few years. It might even be safe to assume that Android phones will be everywhere and that the number of users for Apple iOS will gradually decrease within the global market.
We might even be looking at a 95-5 split in the global market share between Android version market share and the Apple iOS.
Reference
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/263437/global-smartphone-sales-to-end-users-since-2007/
[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/757441/worldwide-htc-smartphone-unit-shipments/
[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/203734/global-smartphone-penetration-per-capita-since-2005/
[4] https://www.statista.com/statistics/201184/percentage-of-mobile-phone-users-who-use-a-smartphone-in-the-us/
[5] https://www.statista.com/statistics/191985/sales-of-smartphones-in-the-us-since-2005/
[6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/951537/worldwide-average-selling-price-android-smartphones/
[7] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1118899/tablet-android-version-share-worldwide/
[8] https://www.statista.com/statistics/921152/mobile-android-version-share-worldwide/
[9] https://www.statista.com/statistics/266210/number-of-available-applications-in-the-google-play-store/
[10] https://www.statista.com/statistics/693944/leading-android-apps-worldwide-by-downloads/
[11] https://www.statista.com/statistics/266211/distribution-of-free-and-paid-android-apps/
[12] https://www.statista.com/statistics/543185/worldwide-internet-connected-operating-system-population/
[13] https://www.statista.com/statistics/232786/forecast-of-andrioid-users-in-the-us/#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20Android%20smartphone,than%20130%20million%20in%202021
[14] https://www.statista.com/statistics/489255/percentage-of-us-smartphone-owners-by-age-group/
[15] https://www.businessofapps.com/data/app-statistics/
[16] https://earthweb.com/how-many-people-use-android/
[17] https://www.oberlo.com/blog/mobile-usage-statistics
[18] https://www.statista.com/statistics/272698/global-market-share-held-by-mobile-operating-systems-since-2009/
[19] https://www.statista.com/statistics/272307/market-share-forecast-for-smartphone-operating-systems/
[20] https://www.statista.com/statistics/263437/global-smartphone-sales-to-end-users-since-2007
[21] https://www.statista.com/statistics/484583/global-average-selling-price-smartphones/
[22] https://www.counterpointresearch.com/china-smartphone-share/
