Google’s Android Begins to Top Out

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Google’s dominance over the smartphone landscape appears to be topping out, but the company is gaining more control over the devices that run its Android mobile operating system.

Android ran 84% of smartphones shipped globally in the third quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, down slightly from 85% in the second quarter. Even if Android’s market share doesn’t go any higher, there is still good news for Google. For starters, the market overall is still growing. Strategy Analytics forecasts 12% growth in smartphone shipments in 2015. Google also appears to be turning the tide on the growth of so-called Android forks -- versions of the mobile operating software that are developed independently and don’t come with Google’s lucrative mobile apps. Google makes no money on Android itself, since it gives away the operating system free to device makers. It profits from revenue generated by advertisements that appear in apps like Google Search, Google Maps and YouTube, as well as a cut of sales of apps, files, subscriptions, and the like sold through the Google Play Store.


Google’s Android Begins to Top Out