Smartphones running on Google’s Android operating system will reach around 1 billion units by the end of 2014, according to a recent research.

The research, conducted by firm Gartner, around 758.7 million units Android phones were shipped across the globe in 2013, accounting for 78.4 percent of all smartphone sales.

In 2013, total worldwide smartphone sales were 967.8 million.

For Android, that’s up 12 points from a market share of 66.4 percent last year on shipments of 451.6 million units, when total worldwide smartphone shipments were just 680.1 million.

Gartner said that Android OS will continue to lead the way by the end of this year when total shipments will approach around 1 billion units.

Android phones accounted for 78.4 percent of all smartphone sales across the globe, or 758.7 million units

Samsung remained the most popular manufacturer of Android smartphones. The South Korean giant shipped 299.8 million units in 2014, securing 31 percent of the total market share and nearly doubling the sales of its closest rival, Apple.

“While Samsung’s smartphone share was up in 2013 it slightly fell by 1.6 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2013. This was mainly due to a saturated high-end smartphone market in developed regions. It remains critical for Samsung to continue to build on its technology leadership at the high end,” said Gartner.

“Samsung will also need to build a clearer value proposition around its midrange smartphones, defining simpler user interfaces, pushing the right features as well as seizing the opportunity of bringing innovations to stand out beyond price in this growing segment.”

Android had a 78% share of all users globally In Q4 2013. Apple’s iOS, on the other hand, has had just 18%. predicts that in 2014 Google’s OS will claim 80.2% of users and only 14.8% will be on the iOS system.

“Strong sales of the iPhone 5s and continued strong demand for the 4s in emerging markets helped Apple see record sales of 50.2 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2013,” according to Gartner. Though Apple lost share for the year and the fourth quarter, Gartner said Apple will be aided this year by new deals it’s made in Asia and is “already seeing an increased growth in the Japanese market,…” Gartner said.