Mobile analytics and ad company Flurry today released a new report looking at the growth of the global smartphone market. The report covers which countries have the largest install base, which are growing the quickest, and how app usage itself is becoming more international.
One of the most significant findings from the report is growth of the Chinese smartphone market, which is poised to top the U.S.’s install base early next year.
According to Flurry’s numbers, the smartphone ecosystem includes three-quarters of a billion iOS and Android devices, which should generate some $10 billion in revenue by the end of 2012. The countries with the largest installed base of iOS and Android devices are the U.S. and China, which are at least 5 times larger than any other market in the top 10. The U.S. counts 181 million devices, China has 167 million, with third place U.K. having only 35 million. The rest of the list reads, in order of ranking: Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil and Spain.
China is growing at a remarkable rate, adding 125 million devices since October 2011, while the U.S. added 55 million. Flurry predicts that China is on track to top the U.S. total install base by the end of Q1 2013.
The report also examined the distribution of iOS and Android app sessions worldwide, showing a big drop in the U.S.’s presence as a proportion of app sessions. As of October 2011, almost half (48%) of app sessions were U.S.-based. By October 2012, only 29% were. Today, 71% of app sessions take place outside the U.S., says Flurry.
Flurry pulled their sample data from over 250,000 mobile applications it tracks, running on over 750 million devices worldwide.
