Android is the world’s largest mobile platform — but it has to overcome these massive hurdles to keep the lead

The smartphone market has expanded from a small and limited business in some regions to a large and robust ecosystem that spans the globe, and Android has emerged as the single-largest smartphone platform. Android has 1.4 billion monthly active users on its smartphones and tablets thanks to its enormous selection and ability to appeal to numerous segments of the smartphone consumer market. 

Despite its success, Android faces an uncertain future. Due to its open-source variants, the Android ecosystem is highly fragmented, which presents numerous issues in terms of security and app development. As key smartphone markets shift from developed regions like the US and China to emerging markets like India and Brazil, Google will try to maintain its control of Android via its Android One project, while third-party vendors will push regionalized versions of Android to better cater to new consumer markets.

In a new report from BI Intelligence, we size up the current Android platform and examine its greatest opportunities and challenges in key markets. We also explore the effects of fragmentation on Android, the limitations it presents to growing segments of the Android ecosystem, such as Android Wear and Android Pay, and discuss how its massive growth is presenting challenges to mobile advertisers and app developers looking to reach Android’s large user base.