BlackBerry OS Sinks to Obscurity as Android Dominates Fourth Quarter 2016 Sales

In a recent sales report done for the last quarter of 2016's smartphone market, Google's Android Operating System led the OS department by a large margin, at 81.7%. BlackBerry OS, on the other hand, landed on an estimated 0.0%, further closing the books on this once-dominating service.

According to the report shared by Engadget, Blackberry-run smartphones accounted to 207.9 units. Apple's iOS ranked second on the OS race with 17.9% of the global smartphone sales, though it led the vendor department with 77, 038.9 units sold.

Samsung is in close second for the vendor race, with 17.8% or 76,782.6 units, down from its 20.7% sales in the fourth quarter of 2015. The South Korean company could attribute its drop in sales to the Galaxy Note 7 issue, as well as the tight competition in the Android smartphone market. Chinese manufacturers like Oppo and Huawei, with a combined market share of 15.7%,  are making good ground in the global market due to its competitive quality and lower price point.  

While the numbers may seem dismal, Global News reported that it does not include BlackBerry devices that run under Android. Android-run devices, like the BlackBerry Priv, would fall under its category.

In response to the released sales report, BlackBerry has issued a statement reiterating its position to move from manufacturing hardware to developing software and product licensing. The company is currently working with manufacturers like TCL to market the BlackBerry brand, with the BlackBerry Mercury scheduled for reveal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion (or RIM), has been struggling to get back to the dominant position it once enjoyed. From being the preferred device by the business sector with its focus on emails and secure connections, the arrival and flexibility of Android and iOS brought the BlackBerry to its knees.