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Data in Motion#06

Which Phone Leads Japan? Android vs iPhone, 2007–2026 | Data in Motion #06

Short answer

  1. In Sep 2026, Android had about 70% of mobile web views worldwide, while iOS had about 60% in Japan.
  2. In Japan, Android first passed iOS in Aug 2011; iOS has been No. 1 since Oct 2012.
  3. Worldwide, Android has been the No. 1 mobile OS since May 2012 (StatCounter, monthly).

Also calledsmartphone OS market share JapanAndroid vs iPhone share over timewhy iPhone is popular in Japanmobile OS bar chart race

Video

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Explained

In the video

  1. 0:00Android for the world, iOS for Japan (Sep 2026)
  2. 0:402007–08: Nokia, the first iPhone, the first Android phone
  3. 1:082009–11: OS rankings in the feature-phone era
  4. 1:592011–12: Japan's lead changes hands five times
  5. 3:192013–26: manufacturers and OS versions
  6. 5:13Phones shipped worldwide, homes with smartphones in Japan
  7. 5:47The split came in 2012
  8. 6:06About Data in Motion and Tamelabo

Android has about 70 percent of mobile web views worldwide. In Japan, though, the iPhone's iOS has about 60 percent. When did the world and Japan rank Android and iOS the opposite way? We follow 19 years, 2007–2026, as a monthly bar chart race.

The tables below are taken from the data behind the video's charts, focusing on the months and years mentioned in the video. Every share is StatCounter's share of mobile web page views — not a share of phones, people, or sales. There are no forecasts; everything is recorded data up to September 2026.

Japan: iOS vs Android and the month's leader

MonthiOSAndroidLeader that month
Dec 200971.4%1.6%iOS
Aug 201145.5%45.8%Android (first time)
Dec 201147.8%46.4%iOS
Mar 201247.2%48.9%Android
May 201248.2%48.7%Android
Jun 201249.4%48.1%iOS
Aug 201248.6%48.9%Android
Sep 201248.1%49.7%Android (last time)
Oct 201251.5%46.3%iOS
Dec 201565.4%33.5%iOS
Jan 201978.4%21.3%iOS (its peak)
Dec 202063.0%36.9%iOS
Sep 202660.5%39.5%iOS
  • The base is web browsing on mobile devices. In Japan's early years, views from feature phones and game consoles fall under "other/unknown," so iOS and Android do not add up to 100% (Dec 2009: 73.0% combined).
  • When Android first took the lead in Aug 2011, the gap was 0.24 points — the smallest in the record. Android led in nine months in total: Aug–Nov 2011, Mar–May 2012 and Aug–Sep 2012.

World: OS shares

MonthAndroidiOSSymbian
Jan 20090.7%35.6%39.3%
Aug 201120.6%19.4%32.1%
May 201223.8%22.9%20.3%
Oct 201230.2%23.7%11.7%
Dec 201565.9%19.2%0.8%
Jul 201877.3%19.4%0.1%
Dec 202072.5%26.9%0.0%
Sep 202669.3%30.6%0.0%
  • Android has been No. 1 worldwide since May 2012. Its peak was 77.3% in Jul 2018.

World: months when the top manufacturer changed

MonthNo. 1No. 2No. 3
Apr 2010Nokia 37.6%Apple 33.1%BlackBerry 15.9%
Jun 2011Nokia 41.3%Apple 25.1%BlackBerry 15.2%
Jan 2013Apple 25.9%Samsung 22.7%Nokia 22.1%
Jun 2013Samsung 25.5%Apple 25.1%Nokia 22.0%
Feb 2020Samsung 30.9%Apple 25.9%Huawei 11.0%
Jan 2023Apple 27.6%Samsung 27.1%Xiaomi 12.5%
Sep 2026Apple 30.6%Samsung 23.5%Xiaomi 11.1%
  • Monthly manufacturer data starts in Apr 2010. In Japan, Apple has been the top manufacturer from Apr 2010 through Sep 2026.

World: smartphones shipped per year (IDC)

YearUnits shippedRelease date
2009about 174.2 million2010-02-04
2010about 302.6 million2011-02-07
2012about 712.6 million2013-01-24
2015about 1.43 billion2016-01-27
2016about 1.47 billion2017-02-01
2017about 1.47 billion2018-02-01
2020about 1.29 billion2021-01-27
2024about 1.24 billion2025-01-13
2025about 1.26 billion2026-01-13
  • Units shipped (sell-in) in that year, as stated in each year's Q4 press release. IDC sometimes revises earlier years later (for example, 2016 was later revised to 1.473 billion). 2016–17, at about 1.47 billion, form the plateau at the top.

Japan: share of households with a smartphone (MIC survey)

Survey yearOwnership
20109.7%
201129.3%
201249.5%
201362.6%
201572.0%
202086.8%
202390.6%
202591.8%
  • Share of households owning at least one smartphone. Survey reference date: year-end through 2015, end of September from 2016, end of August from 2020.

OS versions: the most-used version each December (worldwide)

YearAndroid (share within Android)iOS (share within iOS)
20176 Marshmallow (31.1%)iOS 11 (70.0%)
20188 Oreo (34.8%)iOS 12 (72.8%)
20199 Pie (42.7%)iOS 13 (73.1%)
202010 (42.9%)iOS 14 (75.5%)
202111 (35.7%)iOS 15 (55.5%)
202212 (28.4%)iOS 16 (61.2%)
202313 (35.7%)iOS 17 (55.4%)
202414 (37.2%)iOS 18 (61.3%)
202515 (24.2%)iOS 18 (71.6%)
Sep 202616 (38.0%)iOS 26 (72.0%)
  • Shares are within each OS, not a comparison between operating systems. Monthly data starts in Jun 2017. In Apr–Jun 2023, older versions (11 and 10) briefly returned to the top, as recorded.

What this episode shows

  • Worldwide, Android has been the No. 1 OS since May 2012.
  • In Japan, iOS has been No. 1 since Oct 2012. September 2012 was Android's last month on top; the closest gap was in Aug 2011 (0.24 points).
  • Worldwide annual shipments plateaued at about 1.47 billion in 2016–17.

Photos (Wikimedia Commons; cropped and resized)

Sources

Where the facts and numbers in the video and on this page come from.

References

  1. Gartner, worldwide smartphone sales to end users, press release of Mar 11, 2009 (2007: 122.3 million; 2008: 139.3 million).
  2. Timeline events: official announcements and news coverage from Apple, Samsung, Google (HTC/T-Mobile), Sony, LINE, GungHo, Niantic and others. Unit figures are stated as checked in planning (iPhone 5s and 5c: 9 million combined on launch weekend).

Links

  1. StatCounter Global Stats, "Mobile Operating System / Mobile Vendor / Android Version / iOS Version Market Share," Japan and worldwide, monthly (Jan 2009–Sep 2026; vendors from Apr 2010, versions from Jun 2017). Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Definition: share of mobile web page views (usage). License: CC BY-SA 3.0. We grouped minor categories (other/unknown) and charted the data. The latest months may be revised for 45 days after publication.gs.statcounter.com
  2. IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Q4 press releases for each year (Feb 2010–Jan 2026). Definition: shipments (sell-in). Examples: release of Feb 1, 2018 (2017: 1.4724 billion); release of Jan 13, 2026 (2025: 1.2603 billion).idc.com
  3. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Communications Usage Trend Survey, yearly results (published May 2012–May 2026; in Japanese). Definition: household smartphone ownership (survey).soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/statistics/statistics05…
  4. Data: StatCounter Global Stats (CC BY-SA 3.0; grouped and charted)creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
  5. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_First_Generation_8GB_(…
  6. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nokia_N95_Front_1.jpg
  7. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HTC_Dream_Orange_FR.jpeg
  8. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_3G_White.jpg
  9. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony_Ericsson_Xperia_X10_(Lus…
  10. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samsung_Galaxy_S_(Metallic_Bl…
  11. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackberry-Bold-9650-Verizon.…
  12. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_4S_unboxing_17-10-11_(…
  13. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_5s_(model_A1457)-3318.…
  14. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_iPhone_X_-_front_(8121)…
  15. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samsung_Galaxy_Fold_5G_-_Aufg…
  16. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_12_Green_128g.jpg
  17. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Google_Pixel_8_Rose_rear.jpg

Voice, music, art

  • Voice: Kokoro
  • Music (OpenTracks): “Sunrise” and “TALK and WALK” by かずち; “元気いっぱい！” by こばっと; “感動をあなたに” by Kyaai.
  • Fonts: IBM Plex Sans / IBM Plex Sans JP / M PLUS Rounded 1c (SIL OFL)
  • Sound effects: made by Tamelabo; Freesound CC0

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