CR: Android remains the undisputed global leader, HarmonyOS surpasses iOS in China

Counterpoint Research published its quarterly insights on smartphone OS usage. The findings indicated that Android continued to dominate globally, followed by iOS in the second position and HarmonyOS in third.

The research agency provided some interesting insights for various markets. One region where the data significantly differs is China, where HarmonyOS surpassed iOS, and its growth is expected to continue into 2025.

The similar results for both QoQ and YoY are due to smartphone sales remaining unchanged in 2024. Android reached its lowest-ever quarterly share in Q4 2024 in regions such as the United States and India.

For instance, sales of Motorola and Google in the US offset the double-digit year-over-year percentage decline seen among smaller companies, while iPhone sales dropped only 1%.

India experienced a record high in iPhone sales during the last quarter of 2024, with two-thirds of all sales comprising older generation iPhones.

HarmonyOS has maintained a steady 4% global market share. It remained third in a three-horse race, but the Huawei operating system outperformed Apple's in all four quarters of 2024 in China. Counterpoint expects HarmonyOS's market share to continue growing because the Chinese government is subsidizing smartphone sales with CNY 500 ($70) for devices that cost under CNY 6,000 (just over $800) in an attempt to boost the economy.

The research agency did not specify whether EMUI, the global name for Huawei's in-house user interface, belongs to the same category as its counterpart for the Chinese market. Either way it doesn't make a big difference, as the vast majority of Huawei's smartphone sales are in its home market.

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