US Google Inc.'s smartphone operating system Android stood as the world's most popular platform in the first quarter, data showed Thursday, helped by robust sales of Chinese handsets.
According to the data compiled by industry tracker Gartner Inc., the combined sales of smartphones running on the Android platform came to 327.1 million units in the January-March period, with its market share reaching 86.1 percent, rising from 84.1 percent posted a year earlier.
Over the cited period, the combined sales of smartphones running on Apple Inc.'s iOS platform hit 51.9 million units, with its market sharing falling 1.1 percentage points to 13.7 percent.
Industry watchers said the figures indicate the global market for mobile operating systems is largely dominated by Android and iOS.
Samsung Electroics Co.'s Tizen, which is applied to a handful of models sold in a few countries including India, failed to post a significant presence in the market. (Yonhap)