Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt expects more than one billion mobile devices to be running the Android OS within the next year. In an interview with AllThingsDigital, Schmidt added that there are currently four times as many Android smartphones and tablets in use than Apple mobile devices, with 1.3 million activations per day.

Schmidt also described Google’s intensifying rivalry with Apple as a “defining contest” in the industry. Prior to the success of Android, Google and Apple worked closely together, with Schmidt even serving on Apple’s board during his time as Google CEO.

Apple has now moved away from using Google technology on its devices, including the removal of the YouTube app from its selection of preloaded apps and replacing Google Maps with its (much maligned) Apple Maps service. Discussing Apple’s trouble with its mapping service, Schmidt said the Cupertino-based firm had learned how difficult providing a mapping service actually is. "We invested hundreds of millions of dollars in satellite work, airplane work, drive-by work, to get the maps accurate," he said.

In related news, a YouTube executive said that views from mobile devices now account for a quarter of total usage on the video service. YouTube's Robert Kyncl said mobile views have risen from 6 percent of the total to 25 percent over the past 18 months.