Analysis of success and failure factors in the mobile operating systems market: A comparative study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v14i10.49732Keywords:
Android, Digital ecosystem, iOS, Technological innovation, Mobile operating systems.Abstract
This article aims to analyze the factors that contribute to the success or failure of mobile operating systems through a systematic literature review and a comparative analysis of five platforms: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Symbian, and HarmonyOS. The research, qualitative and exploratory in nature, was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of a systematic literature review which, following the guidelines of the PRISMA model, identified and selected 15 relevant articles. The second phase deepened the analysis through comparative case studies, evaluating the five platforms based on technical, strategic, and market-related factors. The analysis revealed that the most successful operating systems share characteristics such as strong integration with digital ecosystems, effective policies for attracting and retaining developers, consistent usability, a consolidated presence of app stores, and business models aligned with consumer behavior. In contrast, the platforms that failed exhibited technical fragmentation, low user adoption, lack of support infrastructure, and disjointed market strategies. The findings reinforce that the performance of an operating system goes beyond technical efficiency: it involves strategic governance, the ability to continuously adapt, and the construction of collaborative networks. The implications of this research are relevant to the field of digital innovation, offering insights for companies, developers, and researchers to better understand the competitive dynamics of the mobile sector.
References
Alibage, A., & Weber, C. (2018). Nokia phones: From a total success to a total fiasco [Unpublished academic paper]. Portland State University.
Alves, W. M. S., & Oliveira, F. K. de. (2013). Análise da usabilidade de sistemas operacionais para dispositivos móveis usando Android e Windows Phone. In Anais do VIII Congresso Norte Nordeste de Pesquisa e Inovação (pp. 1–10).
Cord, D. J. (2014). decline anThe d fall of Nokia. Schildts & Söderströms.
Fernandes, B. A., Crispim, S. F., & Fernandes, J. L. (2015). Análise dos fatores de competitividade que influenciaram a migração de valor entre as empresas Nokia e Apple no período de 2007 a 2012. Revista de Administração e Negócios da Amazônia, 7(2), 1–24.
Götz, F. M., Stieger, S., & Reips, U.-D. (2017). Users of the main smartphone operating systems (iOS, Android) compared on personality traits. PLOS ONE, 12(5), e0176921.
Hewawitharana, C. (2022). Challenges in mobile OS (Android, iOS, Windows) – A comparative analysis. Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology.
Joseph, J., & Kurian, S. (2013). Mobile OS – Comparative study. Journal of Engineering, Computers & Applied Sciences, 2(10), 1–10.
Lamberg, J. A., Peltoniemi, M., Mäkinen, S., & Sainio, L.-M. (2021). The curse of agility: The Nokia Corporation and the loss of dominance in the smartphone industry. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 34(4), 1–32.
Li, K. (2023). Comparative analysis of the technology strategy in the high-tech industry. Korean Journal of Business Administration, 36(2), 1–5.
Li, L., Guo, X., Zhou, M., & Fang, Y. (2023). Software engineering for OpenHarmony. arXiv.
Li, S., & Makovskaya, N. V. (2025). International experience in implementing corporate strategy (using Huawei's corporate strategy as an example). Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University Bulletin, 2(66), 36–40.
Mascarenhas, M., Martins, M., Bulcão, L., de Brito, J., Vieira, V., & Duran, A. (2013). Um estudo de caso com análise comparativa entre plataformas para aplicações móveis aberta e proprietária: Android e iOS. Anais da Escola Regional de Computação Bahia, Alagoas e Sergipe (ERBASE).
Mendonça, V. R. L. de, Bittar, T. J., & Dias, M. de S. (2011). Um estudo dos sistemas operacionais Android e iOS para o desenvolvimento de aplicativos. Anais do Encontro Anual de Computação de 2011 (ENACOMP 2011).
Peltonen, T. (2018). Case study 4: The collapse of Nokia’s mobile phone business. In R. Pillai & T. Peltonen (Eds.), Towards wise management: Wisdom and stupidity in strategic decision-making.
Pereira, A. S., et al. (2018). Metodologia da pesquisa científica. [e-book]. Ed. UAB/NTE/UFSM.
Queiroz, L. R. (2018). iPhone, Android e a consolidação da cultura do smartphone: O papel do iPhone e do sistema operacional Android como catalisadores da consolidação no mercado de smartphones em escala global. Revista Tecnologia e Sociedade, 14(2), 1–24.
Rocha, A. M., & Finzi Neto, R. M. (2011). Introdução à arquitetura Apple iOS. Anais do Encontro Anual de Computação de 2011 (ENACOMP 2011), 1(1), 1–8.
Sie, K. (2022). The analysis of smartphones’ operating system and customers’ purchasing decision: Application to HarmonyOS and other smartphone companies. In International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development (ICFIED) (pp. 1–5).
Shabtai, A., Fledel, Y., & Elovici, Y. (2009). Google Android: A state-of-the-art review of security mechanisms. arXiv Preprint.
Shamugiia, G. (2020). Mobile OS analysis from customers’ perspective.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature Review as a Research Methodology: An Overview and Guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339.
Teodorescu, C. A., Ciucu, A.-N., & Vargas, V. M. (2023). The Rise of the Mobile Internet: Tracing the Evolution of Portable Devices. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Business Excellence, 1645-1654.
Tinuoye, A. P. (2025). Evaluating Penetration Testing Methodologies for Mobile Applications: A Comparative Study of Android and iOS Security [Preprint]. SSRN.
Panigrahi, A. K. (2020). Failure of Nokia – Lessons from losers. In Emerging Issues in Business Management (pp. 1–6). National Press Associates.
Weng, V. N. S. (2021). HarmonyOS’s features and challenges. ResearchGate.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Lucas Alves da Silva, Manases Gilson Santos Souza, João Victor Ramos de Souza, Tássio José Gonçalves Gomes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
