A new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone tracker predicts that Android will continue to dominate iOS in 2014 and all the way into 2018 due to affordability issues.

According to IDC, Android should capture a round 80.2 percent of the global smartphone market in 2014 with close to one billion shipments throughout the year. IDC expects Android smartphone shipments to top 1.4 billion in 2018, although that will only account for 77.6 percent.

"What makes smartphone growth so amazing is where the growth will be taking place," said Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team.

"Smartphone shipments will more than double between now and 2018 within key emerging markets, including India, Indonesia, and Russia. In addition, China will account for nearly a third of all smartphone shipments in 2018. These -- and other markets -- will offer multiple opportunities to vendors and carriers alike, but the key will be balancing affordability with expectations."

IDC's forecast for Apple's iOS, however, isn't so good. The report predicts that Apple will only come away with a 14.8 percent market share in 2014, which will then drop down to 13.7 percent in 2018 "despite rumors of a larger screen iPhone."

The main reason for the widening gap, IDC concludes, is because Apple devices are too expensive in emerging markets, which are now becoming major smartphone buyers.

"Apple continues to be strong in mature markets, where devices are heavily subsidized, but emerging markets are expected to drive overall market growth, and appetite for smartphones in these markets is at the sub-$200 level, significantly below Apple's selling prices," reads the report.

"Until recently, low cost has equaled poor quality in the smartphone space," added Ryan Reith, IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker program director. "Given the competition at the high end, vendors like Motorola are trying to skate to where the puck is going by offering extremely affordable devices like the Moto E, which offer a 'good enough' experience that will suit the needs of many. This goes to show that components that were used 2-3 years back in high-end smartphones are still sufficient in many aspects, and ultimately will allow vendors to come to the table with viable low-cost solutions."

The report also predicts that Windows Phone will continue to gain momentum if there's more OEM support, and that Microsoft's operating system can almost double its market share of a predicted 3.5 percent in 2014 by 2018.

BlackBerry, meanwhile, is expected to finish the year with under 1 percent market share in 2014, dipping to a paltry 0.3 percent by 2018.

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