Android's share of the global smartphone OS market climbed past 80% for the first time during the third quarter, IDC estimates.
Around 211.6 million Android handsets shipped during the third quarter, giving the OS a total smartphone market share of 81%, according to the research firm.
iOS' market share fell to 12.9% for the quarter, from 14.4% a year earlier, even as shipment volumes increased to a record 33.8 million. Of course, these figures only include the first week of sales of the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.
Microsoft had a strong showing with Windows Phone, with shipment volumes climbing an impressive 156% year-on-year. But the platform's total market share was a mere 3.6%.
It was a rough quarter for BlackBerry, with total shipment volumes sinking 41.6% to 4.5 million, and its market share falling to 1.7% from 4.1%.
The total smartphone market increased 39.9% year-on-year during Q3, despite high saturation rates in a number of mature markets.