Mobile Platform Operating Systems (Global Market)

2024: Global Mobile OS Market Size Reaches $51.31 Billion for the Year

In 2024, costs in the global mobile operating systems market reached $51.31 billion. The industry is showing steady growth due to technological advances, an expanding base of gadget owners, the development of cloud platforms and new services. This is stated in a study by Research and Markets, the results of which TAdviser got acquainted with in early June 2025.

As smartphones, tablets and wearables weave deeper into everyday life, the software platforms on which these devices run are evolving. In particular, there is widespread integration of functions based on artificial intelligence: such algorithms underlie context-sensitive interfaces and predictive care tools that increase user engagement. AI tools help raise the level of security by identifying fraudulent activities and other threats. Assistants based on neural networks help in solving everyday problems: this can be a search for certain information, translation from one language to another in real time, improving the quality of photos, etc. AI also provides monitoring of vital signs of the body, performing an individual analysis of sleep, nutrition, wasted energy and activity.

Augmented reality is gaining momentum. In addition, seamless connection on various devices is becoming more and more important for users. The development of mobile OS is facilitated by a constant improvement in the technical characteristics of gadgets: developers increase the performance of processors while reducing their power consumption, increase the amount of internal memory, and develop wireless connectivity. The set of integrated sensors is expanding, which leads to the emergence of new software functions.

Leading tech companies are increasing investment in their products and forming strategic alliances to hold on to leadership. Collaboration between hardware and software developers helps optimize mobile performance by increasing battery life and improving performance. Engaging with regional partners can provide deeper market penetration by aligning marketing campaigns. Among the key players on a global scale are:

• Apple;
• Garmin;
• Google (Alphabet);
• Huawei Technologies;
• Imagine Marketing Limited;
• Mozilla Corporation;
• Nexxbase Marketing;
• Samsung;
• Xiaomi;
• Microsoft;
• Jolla Oy.

Different regions show different trends, which is associated with the level of development of the IT sector, current regulatory requirements, incomes of the population and other factors. So, in North America, due to the high penetration of smartphones, there are slow but stable update cycles, and corporate users prefer platforms with security certification and unified device management. In Europe, data privacy and digital sovereignty requirements have a significant impact on the industry. Asia Pacific shows the fastest growth rate.

In 2025, costs in the field of mobile OS are expected to reach $54.51 billion. Analysts at Research and Markets believe that in the future, the CAGR in the market under consideration will be 6.46%. As a result, by 2030, costs could increase to $74.72 billion.^[1]

2019

The smartphone revolution was the Android revolution. Shares of Android and iOS in countries around the world. Data for 2019

2017

Future Market - Framework Market

2010-2014 Forecast

In the period from 2010 to 2014, the platform's share Apple iOS in the global market smartphones will decrease by 25.8% - from 14.7% to 10.9%. At the same time, the share of Windows the Mobile/Phone platform over the same period will grow by 43.3% - from 6.8% to 9.8%, the report says. IDC

Analysts do not cite the reasons for the reduction in the share of iOS, explaining the growth of the share of Windows Mobile/Phone by the upcoming platform update (in Russia, the first devices based on Windows Phone 7 should go on sale in late or early 2011).

Meanwhile, the Symbian^3 platform inspires analysts significantly less than Windows Phone. According to their forecast, during this period, the share of all Symbian versions will decrease by 18% - from 40.1% in 2010 to 32.9% in 2014. However, this platform will retain its leadership for at least four next years.

At the same time, analysts continue to argue that Android's share growth will be the most significant. According to a new report, in the period from 2010 to 2014. the share of the open platform created by Google will grow by 51.2% - from 16.3% to 24.6%. It is interesting to note that among all the leading platforms, only Windows Mobile/Phone, according to IDC's forecast, will show a growth rate comparable to the growth rate of Android over the next years.

Analysts explain the popularity of Android by the flexibility of the platform: it allows manufacturers and operators to create such devices as they want, and equip them with their own shells, applications and services, achieving the maximum degree of differentiation. It is assumed that in version 3.0 of the Android platform it will not be possible to put proprietary shells on top of its own interface. DigiTimes Research previously predicted that 55 million smartphones will be released in 2010, 6 times more than in 2009. Earlier, Gartner assumed that Android in 2012 will take second place in the smartphone market with a 14% share

In its latest report, IDC analysts raised their previously projected global smartphone shipments by 10% in 2010. According to the updated forecast, smartphone shipments will grow by 55.4% - to 269.6 million units against 173.5 million in 2009. Raising the forecast for smartphones, analysts also for the better adjusted the volume of shipments of mobile phones of all types - by 1.5% compared to the previously predicted value. Now analysts claim that shipments of mobile phones in 2010 to the global market will grow by 14.1% compared to 2009. Last year, shipments decreased by 2.8%.

In 2011, according to IDC's forecast, global smartphone shipments will grow by 24.5% compared to the current year. In subsequent years, growth will also decline to just 13.6% in 2014. Despite the large number of market participants, analysts say, none of them will be able to take a share comparable to the share that Windows holds in the computer market (about 90%).

The report also reported that in the first half of 2010, 119.4 million smartphones were delivered to the global market, 55.5% more compared to the same period last year, according to the results of which the volume of deliveries amounted to 76.8 million devices.

2012: In Europe, companies preferred Android to Windows Mobile

Operating system Windows Mobile ceding Android the title of the most actively adaptable platform among enterprises in the region: EMEA the latter, according to Citrix^[2]increased its share in this market by 11% to 36% in the fourth quarter of 2012. The share for the Apple iOS same period decreased from 56% to 42%, and Windows Mobile increased the share by 2% to 21%.

System Shares in the Global Enterprise Mobile OS Market

Citrix, 2013

Interestingly, according to Citrix, although Google Android has become a leader in the corporate environment in Europe, in the world as a whole, enterprises prefer primarily Apple iOS - it accounted for 58% of the global market for corporate mobile operating systems.

System Shares in the Global Enterprise Mobile OS Market by Vertical Industry

Citrix, 2013

In general, iOS is often chosen by companies in those vertical industries where users often interact with customers, for example, in retail and restaurant business. Android is preferred by organizations that provide services, such as transport and energy. Android received the greatest penetration in the corporate environment in the healthcare industry, as well as in transport. iOS is most actively used by legal and insurance companies.

Top 20 Apps in Enterprise App Stores

Citrix, 2013

The researchers also note that organizations are increasingly resorting to the use of "blacklists" of applications, trying to ensure the security of corporate data and protect users from unwanted pastime. Angry Birds, Facebook, Dropbox and YouTube are most often included in such lists. The "whitelists" most often include Evernote, NitroDesk TouchDown, Google Chrome and Adobe Reader. At the same time, Skype often gets both lists of allowed and lists of allowed programs.

2000e

In the 2000s, devices on various versions of Palm OS occupied more than half of the PDA market. In addition to the Graffiti handwriting recognition system, Palm OS had another "feature" - the built-in Security application, which was used to protect and hide entries with a password. In all basic applications - addresses, calendar, notes and to-do list - records could be marked with the Private icon, and only after entering a password were they available for reading and editing. The devices were produced not only by Palm, but also by Handspring, Samsung, Lenovo, Garmin, Kyocera, Sony, Symbol, etc.

A total of 47 different PDAs and 20 were released smartphones on Palm OS. Sales peaked in 2006, but faded by mid-2007. This was influenced by a number of reasons, including several mergers and acquisitions of the developer company, limited capabilities compared to competitors of Windows Mobile and Hawkins' Apple iPhone lack of interest in the PDA topic (he was more interested in machine learning) and the financial crisis.

The most popular version was Palm OS Garnet (5.4.x). It was renamed Garnet OS in 2007. And in 2009, a new version was introduced, operating system called Palm. webOS Since 2010, it HP has been developed by Palm. In 2012, the source codes of webOS were made publicly available, thus operating system becoming free. software LG Electronics took up its development. Today it is used exclusively for smart TVs.

In 2000, Microsoft released Windows Mobile for its Pocket PC (PDAs and Communicators) and Smartphone (Smartphone) hardware platforms. However, it could not stand the competition with Android and iOS, because it was expensive for mobile device manufacturers and rather demanding on hardware. Not supported since 2011.

Instead, in 2010 they launched the Windows Phone 7 operating system (in 2012 - Windows Phone 8) for smartphones, it was remembered for the lack of compatibility with previous applications. Built on the basis of Windows NT desktop OS. Among the "chips" - the "tiled" interface of Metro UI and the built-in office suite of Microsoft Office Mobile. The devices were released by HTC, LG, Samsung, Dell, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Acer, Nokia, ZTE and others. Since 2016, it has been called Windows 10 Mobile. Disappeared in 2019.

iPhone OS, later renamed iOS, appeared in 2007 as an operating system for smartphones, tablets and smartwatches. Developed on the basis of OS X. iOS owes its popularity to a revolutionary interface in which developers refused to control and enter text with a pen (stylus) and created a finger control system ("multitouch"). A successful marketing policy, the charisma of Steve Jobs, attractive design contributed to the growth of sales of iPhone smartphones until 2010. In addition, iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets are part of Apple's ecosystem, interacting perfectly with its computer equipment.

A year later - in 2008 - Android OS entered the market. It provided smartphones, tablets, digital players, e-books, smartwatches and bracelets, computers, game consoles, televisions, robots and other devices. Developed on the Linux kernel by the company of the same name, then acquired by Google. Android is being further developed by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), which includes more than 100 manufacturers. Android is the undisputed leader among OS for mobile devices - it occupies 87% of the market, according to IDC (Q3 2019) due to the large number of devices of various price categories, the use of the latest technologies. The growth of Android was influenced by the fact that with the support of touchscreen devices were cheaper than iPhones, produced by many manufacturers, attracted by new features that conservative iOS devices did not give (for example, support for 2 SIM cards appeared in iPhones only in 2018 with the release of iOS 12.1).

A large role in the distribution of iOS and Android was played by the number of applications measured by millions, easily available in the online stores AppStore and Google Play. Installing applications has become possible with the click of a button. Previously, it was necessary to find the program in numerous directories or on developer sites, buy it somehow, download it to a computer, rewrite it into a mobile device by connecting a cable, and only then install it by running the installer. Not everyone was capable of it. Now preschoolers can easily cope with this task.

1993-1999

In 1994, Psion began developing the next 32-bit EPOC, which in 1998 was called Symbian OS. The system was used in smartphones and communicators, Nokia,, Samsung Sony Ericsson Motorola and three dozen other mobile device manufacturers. Symbian OS survived until 2012, aged from a lack of attention from third-party developers and died safely, unable to withstand competition with and. iOS It Android was finished off by Nokia, the largest manufacturer of Symbian OS devices, which has relied on the Windows Mobile platform.

In 1993, Newton OS from Apple appeared. Already in the first model of the "Personal Digital Assistant" (PDA) Newton MessagePad, the Calligrapher combined handwritten text recognition system, created by our compatriots under the leadership of Stepan Pachikov (ParaGraph International Inc.). Handwritten characters were recorded with a plastic stylus pen on a touch monochrome screen and translated into printed text immediately or after entering an entire word. Interestingly, it was also possible to recognize the Russian text - after training and letter entry in a small window.

The term PDA (we got the name of the PDA - a pocket personal computer) was proposed by John Scully, then Apple CEO and Newton apologist. In the first Newton models, recognition worked imperfectively, but then even received an award. Commercially, the Newton project failed, despite the release of 7 Apple models and 5 partners from Sharp and Motorola. They were quite large and expensive. Few people wanted to pay from $700 to $1000 for an electronic organizer, albeit an advanced one.

1996 is the year Palm OS was born. Back in 1989, Jeff Hawkins with partners developed the world's first GRiDPad handwritten tablet computer running the MS-DOS operating system. In the same year, he patented the method of letter recognition of handwritten text, which later became the "chip" of Palm OS. Hawkins saw the prospects for PDA in the consumer market, provided that the device is very compact, convenient to work, can exchange data with a PC and its cost will not exceed $300. Palm Computing's Pilot 1000, launched in 1996, was just that - and really became successful.

In 1996, another notable "character" appeared in the history of mobile OS - Microsoft Windows CE. An abbreviated version of Windows 95 desktop OS optimized for x86, MIPS, ARM, SuperH and PowerPC processors. It was used in keyboard pocket personal computers, then became a platform for keyboard-free touch PDAs based on Microsoft Pocket PC and Windows Mobile. The composition included "light" versions of Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, etc.

In 1999, another legend was born - BlackBerry OS of the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM), which was used for corporate smartphones and communicators. Along with standard organizer and text functions, BlackBerry devices could send encrypted emails and instant messages to each other using peer-to-peer technology and a dedicated server. It was believed that the messages were impossible to intercept competitors in business and special services. But BlackBerry did not take root everywhere.

1988

The first full-fledged mobile operating system can be considered EPOC16 (codename SIBO - SIxteen Bit Organizer, or SIxteen Bit Operating system), developed in 1988 by English professor David Potter, founder of Psion PLC. The 16-bit system, written in C for the Intel 8086 (x86) processor family, was used in Psion MC200, Psion 3 and later laptops and handheld computers. EPOC16 supported multi-window, placement of shortcuts on the desktop. It included a calendar (meetings, tasks, voice notes, birthday reminders^[3].

Notes