Navigating Android: Device Market Share [JUNE]

It’s time for another round of Android device and OS market share data. As a service of the NativeX Games Task Force, I publish these reports every month to paint a clearer picture of which devices and versions of Android are most popular among mobile gamers.

For those who are unfamiliar with the NativeX Games Task Force, we work with game developers to improve engagement, retention, and monetization in their games.

As always, this market share data is based on daily active users in NativeX’s network of games, which is great for Android game developers but if your Android app is not a game, you should not use this report. The “all Android apps” data provided in the Android Developer Portal will be more useful for you.

Android Device Market Share

In June, we finally saw what we have all been waiting for: Samsung captured all the top ten spots and is completely dominating the Android market. I thought LG or HTC would disrupt the Samsung party this month but they just missed out by a small margin.

As usual, the top two spots remained the same this month with the Galaxy SIII and SII. Surprisingly, this is the first time since I have created these reports the top 5 have stayed the same. New to the charts are the Galaxy S4, Y, and S3 mini (who knew!). The S3 mini was the big surprise for me although I don’t expect its success to last long.

Last month I predicted the S4 would make the charts but to my surprise it drove its way all the way up to #6.  The HTC One fell and looks like it will not make the top ten next month either. Since this data is based on DAUs in our network, there is still a chance it will pick up based on game usage.

Some honorable mentions this month include: LG Motion, Nexus 4, Note 10.1, and the Nexus 7.

Android OS Market Share

Based on our Network DAUs, here is the breakdown of market share for the Android OS. Again, this differs from the Android developer portal because it only includes games.

After this month, two of my 2013 predictions remain. We’ll have to see what happens with the Galaxy S4 and whether or not HTC can make a push in the second half of the year. Until next month everyone!

2013 Predictions

• Nexus 7 will continue to climb during January and overtake the Galaxy Tab 2 (7”) and won’t be challenged from another Android tablet this year.
• Samsung Galaxy S3 will likely hold the top spot throughout 2013 with rumors of the S4 releasing in May and the majority of early adopters still enjoying their 2-year carrier contract with the S3.
• Sony will drop off the charts completely and not recover another spot for the remainder of 2013.  Along with Sony, LG will fail to chart with a non-Nexus phone.
• HTC will be making a big push this year for new phones considering they lost market share last year.  Expect to see them to replace 1 or 2 spots on the charts quite possibly with the rumored M7 which is rumored to release in February or March.