On 28 March 2012, IDC released a research report stating nearly 1 Billion Smart Connected Devices shipped worldwide in 2011 with shipments expected to double by 2016.
IDC defines Smart Connected Devices as PCs, Smartphones and Tablets.
Key highlights from a mobile perspective:
- In 2011, Smartphone shipments surpassed PC shipments, 494M to 353M respectively
- By 2016, the gap increases to 1.16B Smartphones compared to 518M PCs
- From an operating system perspective, Windows led 2011 with 35.9%, followed by Android with 29.4% and iOS (Apple) with 14.6% (Other Tablets and PC operating systems presumably make up the remaining 20.1%)
- Android’s market penetration reflects the propagation of lower-cost devices as Google does not charge manufacturers for its operation system
- IDC expects Apple to keep its loyal development community as iOS users have proven to pay for high-quality applications
- This is not a zero-sum game – many users have multiple devices and that trend will continue to increase worldwide
