Linux-based KaiOS has surpassed Apple’s iOS as the second most used operating system in India, a new study reports. The study by DeviceAtlas found that KaiOS now has 15% share of the Indian market while iOS has fallen to 9.6%. Even Android lost market share by 11.4% in the last year, but it remains to be the most used operating system in India with current share at 71.6%. iOS lost 1.4% in the Indian market over the last year. The study also explores the comeback of feature phones, which it says is largely driven by the Indian market, specifically the launch of Lyf/Jio range of KaiOS-powered handsets. “Reliance Jio, India's third largest operator with over 160 million subscribers, have in recent months taken the tariff war to the next level, and as a result, their branded devices dominate the feature phone landscape,” the report says. Notably, 88% of all feature phone traffic in our 2017 data came from India. This trend was also recently pointed out in a research by CounterPoint, which noted the surprising shift in the Indian market where shipments (sold to retailers) of feature phones in India doubled in the first quarter of 2018 (Q1 2018) year-on-year while the smartphone market remained flat in the same period. That report also attributed the surge in popularity to the JioPhone range. While feature phones remain an active part of most countries mobile ecosystem, no country has seen as impressive an impact as India, the DeviceAtlas report said. On the basis…
