Android smartphone market share soars to 97% in India in Q2 2016; but did Apple iOS rise or fall?

Research firm Strategy Analytics said that Google's mobile operating system Android captured 97% of the total smartphone market share in India in terms of shipments. With this figure, the operating system maintained the top position during the second quarter of 2016.

"Android shipped 29.8 million smartphones in India in Q2 2016, growing an impressive 28% annually from 23.2 million units in Q2 2015. Android maintained first position across India with a record 97 percent OS share for the quarter, up from 90 percent a year ago," Strategy Analytics' Executive Director was quoted as saying in the release.

The total smartphone shipment share in India grew 19% year-on-year to 30.7 million units from 25.8 million units in April-June last year, Strategy Analytics said in its release.

"Android dominates the India smartphone market and looks unbeatable right now, due to its deep portfolio of hardware partners, extensive distribution channels, and a wide range of low-cost apps like Gmail."

Also, the release mentioned that Apple's iOS shipments fell 35% year-on-year as the company shipped 0.8 million smartphones in India during April-June. It shipped 1.2 million units a year ago in the same time period.

The report, however, contradicts Apple's own figures during its earnings call for the third quarter. Apple said that it saw 51% growth year-on-year in iPhone sales in India.

Apple's smartphone market share has halved from 4 percent to just 2% in India during the past year. Apple iOS will need to reduce iPhone pricing to cheaper levels, attract more operator subsidies and enlarge its retail presence through Apple stores or online channels if it wants to regrow significantly in the future," Strategy Analytics' Director Woody Oh was quoted as saying in the release.