Eric Schmidt Looks Ahead to Android Dominance over iOS in 2012
Eric Schmidt, ever making the rounds as a keynote speaker at tech conferences far and wide, was recently addressing a crowd at Le Web in Paris. He recalled the story of an smartphone user who once questioned why Android users often had to wait months for apps that were already available for the iPhone and iPad. Schmidt told the individual, “my prediction is that six months from now you’ll say the opposite.” He pointed towards the operating system’s position as an open platform and Google’s many hardware partners, his argument being that market volume alone will have developers looking to Android as their primary target.
Schmidt has a point. As Android becomes a larger player in the global smartphone market, the wait for apps once exclusive to iOS users has decreased greatly. Most older applications have caught up between the two platforms, and new services tend to launch simultaneously across Android and iOS devices. If not, the wait is much shorter.
Schmidt believes that 2012 will be the year of Android. Many said the same entering 2011. The fact is Android has in many ways surpassed Apple’s OS as a smartphone platform, but has yet to get over the hump of public perception. The iPhone remains the gold standard and thanks to some clever advertising the device is synonymous with apps. With the launch of arguably the most appealing version of Android yet, Ice Cream Sandwich, and an emphasis on eliminating OS fragmentation among devices, next year is looking like as good a time as any for Android to stake its claim.
[via Engadget]