iPad Mini Retina Display is doing well, but the Android reigns supreme in the OS market.

According to Kantar, the gains are predominantly resilient in Europe, where 68.6% of phones are running a version of Android, as compared to the 18.5% running on Apple's iOS.

"Android finished 2013 strongly, showing year-on-year share growth across 12 major global markets including Europe, USA, Latin America, China and Japan," said Kantar's Dominic Sunnebo in a report this week. "Apple has lost share in most countries compared with this time last year, but importantly it has held strong shares in key markets including 43.9 percent in USA, 29.9 percent in Great Britain and 19 percent in China."

Last September, Google declared it had activated a billion Android devices globally since the unveiling of the OS. Along with the accurate forecast made by the research firm ABI, by the end of this year, almost 800 million Android devices will be in use.

Evidently, as Eric Zeman of Information Week mentioned, that it may be useful to put the entire iOS versus Android battle in perspective.

"Apple upgrades its devices only once per year. During that long 12-month stretch between new iPhones, Apple's competitors, namely Samsung, roll out dozens of new devices," wrote Zeman in a recent Information Week article. "Further, many of the competing smartphones out-class the iPhone in terms of screen size and some features. Apple may be able to turn its sliding market share around this year if some of the iPhone 6 rumors turn out to be accurate."

The upcoming iPhone 6 release could change the smart phone contest in Apple's favor in the future.