Market research firm, Ovum expects smartphone shipments to reach 1.7 billion units in 2017, with Android keeping a firm grasp on market leadership.
The company noted that increased demand from emerging markets, as well as growth from Android, will spur smartphone shipments.
“Android will dominate the smartphone market over the next five years,” said Adam Leach, principal analyst at Ovum. “While Apple has defined the smartphone market since it introduced the iPhone in 2007, we’re now seeing a sharp rise in the shipment volumes of Android, signalling its appeal to leading handset manufacturers.”
Android smartphones accounted for 44 percent of the smartphone market in 2011, up from 17 percent in 2010.
Ovum estimates that Android share will reach 48 percent in 2017, followed by Apple with 27 percent of the market share, up from its 2011 share of 23 percent.
Ovum didn’t count Microsoft out either. “We expect Microsoft, despite its slow start, to have established Windows Phone as a relevant smartphone platform by 2017,” concluded Leach.
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