It has been an eventful six years of Google Android. From a tentative start, this operating system has really gained strength and as things stand now, will have a much brighter future as well.

Reason For Android Success

As with anything new at the beginning, Android too had its share of issues. But Google hit a master stroke by bundling Android with affordable smart phones across the world. Countries like China and India that have seen an exponential growth in smart phone sales took to this platform with gusto and today Android has a market share of 85%, well above Apple and Windows. The low-cost and high quality combination proved to be the winner for Google. Google was able to shake off the initial confusion of having two separate Android platforms for mobile and tablets through their unification by launching Ice Cream Sandwich. After that, through Jelly Bean and Kit Kat updates, they have garnered huge market share and consumers have experienced significant improvements in user experience. The impending launch of Android L with its Material Design is going to be the next trigger for Google to further consolidate its presence in the smart phone, tablet and phablet segments.

Google Brought About Significant Android Improvements

The unification of Android was an evolving process and Google introduced services as well as improvements that enabled Android to function with better speed without using additional power and RAM memory. This enabled handset makers to bundle Android with hand phones that were extremely price competitive and that opened up the market substantially. Those who were on the fence and deciding whether or not to make the switch to smart phones now took the plunge and bought these handsets. Newer versions of Android only kept the momentum going and have enabled Google to get an 85% market share. Though 20% of this market share comes from forked Android mobiles, this healthy market share is testimony to the efforts and research put in by Google on Android.

The Future Looks Better

The Kit Kat update was considered an important update. People who had complained of some glitches on Jelly Bean received this update with hope and optimism and though there are some rough edges to this platform, they know Google will sort them out. The announcement of Android L is another major update and considered even bigger than Kit Kat. The design language itself is something that will cover Google software across the board and experts consider this update to be a defining one. There has been opinion about the need for better compatibility among Google products and this update is expected to provide that cohesiveness. Users will now experience the Android platform as a distinct one and that will help Google further accentuate its presence in this segment.

Material Design Will Spur Android Growth

It is expected that users who experience this design will want more of this and may therefore stick to Google products. That is surely not very good news for both Apple and Microsoft.