Apple Makes Gains in U.S. Smartphone Market Share

[samcraig]

Nothing was rushed. They spent a lot of time making it suck.

Being funny? (which you often are) Or do you have good practical knowledge/usage of either ICS or JB? And by practical knowledge - I don't mean hands on at a store and/or borrowing a buddy's to check it out...

iOS and Android (and I use both a lot) are both great platforms. Neither one sucks. They each have advantages and disadvantages. Anyone who wants to claim that one is so much better than the other is in denial.

Further - it's always funny how people say iOS is amazing and Android sucks yet claim Android is a copy/ripoff of iOS. So it sucks AND is a copy of iOS? Funny paradox there.

 

[Fatalbert]

What does Android sucking have to do with the article or the fact that Android is leading the smart phone market share. By that logic most people in the world "choose" to use a mobile operating system that sucks. Doesn't make much sense does it?

Apple Maps still have many, many years to go before it will be safe and as robust as Google Maps (my opinion). The market share is fact.

It doesn't, nor did I say that it does. But relating to what you said, do you use Internet Explorer? If not, you're missing out on the most popular => best browser for Americans.

----------

One word... Chromebooks.
I see a lot more schools opting for them over iPads and MacBooks as budgets get tighter.
My daughter's entire school district is phasing out their MacBooks and iPads for Chromebooks and Nexus 7.
They use Google Docs and GMail for all the students to communicate and collaborate on school work.

Uh, why?? You can just get any cheap Windows or Linux laptop and use Google Chrome. Then again, with more freedom comes more responsibility... but still, the inability to run Windows AND Mac apps is a problem.

 

[inkswamp]

So it continues.

I think the term "Android fatigue" should become a regular part of these kinds of articles, because that's what I attribute this steady trickle of market share away from Android toward iOS. I think Android is very good at grabbing first-time buyers of smart phones but very bad at keeping them long-term. I suspect that's what we're seeing now and have been seeing for the last year or so. The question is how long it will continue and when will we reach a stable point where so much migration between platforms settles down.

 

[Fatalbert]

So it continues.

I think the term "Android fatigue" should become a regular part of these kinds of articles, because that's what I attribute this steady trickle of market share away from Android toward iOS. I think Android is very good at grabbing first-time buyers of smart phones but very bad at keeping them long-term. I suspect that's what we're seeing now and have been seeing for the last year or so. The question is how long it will continue and at what point will we reach a stable point where so much migration between platforms settles down.

I picked up an Android phone and was actually amazed by it. The charm didn't last very long. It's a Windows-level effort.

 

[bawbac]

So it continues.

I think the term "Android fatigue" should become a regular part of these kinds of articles, because that's what I attribute this steady trickle of market share away from Android toward iOS. I think Android is very good at grabbing first-time buyers of smart phones but very bad at keeping them long-term. I suspect that's what we're seeing now and have been seeing for the last year or so. The question is how long it will continue and at what point will we reach a stable point where so much migration between platforms settles down.

Glad you started each sentence with "I" so everyone is aware these are just a single opinion and not statistical facts.

 

[4TheLoveOfTech]

It doesn't, nor did I say that it does. But relating to what you said, do you use Internet Explorer? If not, you're missing out on the most popular => best browser for Americans.

It's not relevant to the post or article what browser I use and I have no desire to get into a browser debate.

 

[johnjefferson]

So it continues.

I think the term "Android fatigue" should become a regular part of these kinds of articles, because that's what I attribute this steady trickle of market share away from Android toward iOS. I think Android is very good at grabbing first-time buyers of smart phones but very bad at keeping them long-term. I suspect that's what we're seeing now and have been seeing for the last year or so. The question is how long it will continue and when will we reach a stable point where so much migration between platforms settles down.

Depends. Many long time iPhone users who get an Android usually want to go back and most the time it is because they dont take the time to learn it. My roommate is a prime example. He just traded his cracked 4s for a Motorola Atrix HD. He complains about things every day claiming it cant do something his iPhone could, then I show him how to do it and then he likes the phone again. There is much more to Android then iOS and obviously about a 2 week learning curve for most. Or you get iPhone users who buy a junk Android phone to try out, it has problems and they return it. Sticking to the flagship Android phones is the best idea.

Another thing that hurts the iPhone sales I think is the iPod Touch. I have the new one and its basically an iPhone 5 without the calling feature. So why do I need an iPhone? I dont. I can have an Android phone (I have the Note 2) while also taking full advantage of iOS and all its apps and features. Win/win in my book but not so much for iPhone sales.

 

[penguin427]

Go SHARP!

Apple should go with Sharp for their display manufactures...unless they want ghosting retina displays and their technology being stolen.

 

[n403xv]

Really? My iPhone 4S still runs like new. Not a glitch with latest iOS6.

So does mine!

 

[AaronEdwards]

You do realize that there are human beings living outside of the United States? I might be well off but that doesn't blind me from the fact that not everyone can afford to pay $100+ per month to AT&T/Verizon.

I do. And I agree. But I'm discussing the US numbers since this is what the topic is about.

 

[Ryth]

Fact.
Apple is not in the lead as the 2nd graph shows
Google 52.3%
Apple 37.8%

If Japan's major carrier cut android orders doesn't come into play because the graph is for Oct 12 - Jan 13.

The next update will be different. I couldn't tell you if Android or Apple market share is going to go up or down. MacRumors has told you what the numbers are as of the end of January 2013.

I'm not even going to try and figure out where you were going with your Fast Food analogy.

I didn't say Apple was in the lead in marketshare...and even the US numbers aren't accurate because Apple isn't on T -mobile yet. I said the % are misleading and favor Android for various reasons.

The FF analogy is simple. In order to get accurate # McDonalds would also have to be in all 5 towns to see what each towns customers prefer..them or BK. Same with carriers...Apple needs to be on each carrier that android is on to get accurate %...other wise you should only compare % between carriers that carry both to get true facts.

They should do two charts. Carriers with iPhone & Android in the USA and a second that is all carriers in USA. Guarantee you % are vastly different.

Honestly , to be even more fair and accurate, it should only be iPhones vs equal top competitors smart phones since most competitors have cheap phones that run android old versions and bad specs but are counted.

 

[carmenodie]

Apple is doomed... Safari is snappier... And AAPL is down a 1.4%... hmmm...

Apple is doomed! Apple posted their best quarter ever in their history back in January.
AAPL is down $150.00...Hmmmmm!
Wow, all this great Apple news ALL-OF-A-SUDDEN
Games!Games!Games!

 

[Benjamins]

Further - it's always funny how people say iOS is amazing and Android sucks yet claim Android is a copy/ripoff of iOS. So it sucks AND is a copy of iOS? Funny paradox there.

No one would say driving this retarded cousin of Jaguar is just the same as driving a real Jaguar.

 

[sir1963nz]

I really don't think it's right to call android the largest "smartphone platform", because:

1. Really its "mobile platform" and when you look at the post-PC era, tablets, namely the iPad Market is a big chunk of mobil devices, and when you include these numbers- the iPad has really dominant share making iOS the dominant platform. Looking just at "smartphones" is selective reporting to try and exclude the market where Apple has had the most success, skewing the numbers in favor of android.

2. Android is hugely fragmented. iOS devices are mostly all running the latest iOS software and even ones that aren't can all run apps without modification. This is not true on android where covering %80 of the market requires changing your app to support 167!!! different devices.

3. I don't consider android to really be a platform, simply because it is so compromised. As a ripoff of iOS they had to rush it to market and in doing so compromised a lot of functionality.

4. Android is primarily sold to feature phone buyers as if it were a featurephone. These people walk in to get "a phone" and get sold android by the weenies at the carriers store... but they don't use them for apps or for even browsing the web, which is why the web stats on android are so pitiful. Android is really a feature phone operating system (hence the fragmentation and incompatibility)

5. You'd be just as correct to lump all the other Linux derivatives together and claim that there's a "linux smartphone platform".

6. We don't have real hard numbers for shipping devices for android. Amazon doesn't publish actual numbers. Google doesn't publish actual numbers. Samsung doesn't publish actual numbers. There's a lot of hype and BS claims that these devices are selling in huge numbers, but when samsung was forced to report actual sales in the lawsuit last year, it turns out that when journalists were claiming big sales the reality was pitiful. Most of these "sales" are actually non-android featurephones also sold by these companies who don't break them out because they want to seem more dominant than they are.

Get me real numbers reported in annual or quarterly reports that would result in an investigation by the SEC and charges of fraud if they were made up-- and use those.

Apple provides them. Until android manufacturers are willing to report the numbers under penalty of perjury like Apple does, they're just PR smoke, nothing more. (or analysts "projections")

These stats are being distorted by the propaganda of android fans who claim that it is a platform, and a smartphone platform at that and that it is dominant

Actually heres another wee thought. My Handicapped son has just bought an iPod touch, with the wireless internet in his house he can call me and txt me using FaceTime, in fact the whole family is starting to use FaceTime more and more with iPods, iPads, iPhones and OSX leaving the phone companies out in the cold. I wonder how many other families are doing the same with just iPods, and with more "open wireless" being available around the world I wonder how much impact this will have on the need for a "phone"

If we consider the iPods/iPads as a means to communicate via voice and txt then IOS becomes much much bigger.

 

[Hojyoteiri]

DoCoMo

On the Docomo tie in, as a Docomo customer I can speak firsthand. The iPhone hasn't arrived, despite being rumored for years, because the CEO doesn't want to relinquish control of their ability to preinstall their applications on their phones. (You also can't delete them on Android.)

Given this trend of rumors and still no iPhone, while they may have finally sealed the deal to get it, the reduction of Android phones could also be because they have lost a ton of marketshare over the past few years. (The biggest complaint by their customers and the number one reason why they have lost so many of them has been that they don't have it.)

They still have the largest network, but they are bleeding customers despite carrying all the latest and greatest Android phones and tablets with competitive pricing and features.

Therefore, clearly, regardless of your personal preferences, the iPhone matters.

 

[sir1963nz]

Depends. Many long time iPhone users who get an Android usually want to go back and most the time it is because they dont take the time to learn it. My roommate is a prime example. He just traded his cracked 4s for a Motorola Atrix HD. He complains about things every day claiming it cant do something his iPhone could, then I show him how to do it and then he likes the phone again. There is much more to Android then iOS and obviously about a 2 week learning curve for most. Or you get iPhone users who buy a junk Android phone to try out, it has problems and they return it. Sticking to the flagship Android phones is the best idea.

Another thing that hurts the iPhone sales I think is the iPod Touch. I have the new one and its basically an iPhone 5 without the calling feature. So why do I need an iPhone? I dont. I can have an Android phone (I have the Note 2) while also taking full advantage of iOS and all its apps and features. Win/win in my book but not so much for iPhone sales.

FaceTime gives you those calling features. My Son calls me from his iPod touch to my iPhone and sends me Txts. He no longer uses his phone to call me unless he is in an area where there is no WiFi he can use. Best of all, the costs are a damn sight lower.

 

[Fatalbert]

Wow, this is shocking!
...
People still use BlackBerries!

----------

No one would say driving this retarded cousin of Jaguar is just the same as driving a real Jaguar.
Image

Hyundai Genesis vs Mercedes sedan. The Hyundai is cheaper than the high-end Mercedes sedans and uses the same type of paint, as Hyundai advertises, and it's a knockoff of the Mercedes design with a knockoff Bentley logo, as they don't advertise. Clearly, the Genesis is just as good and cheaper. (jk)

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Really? My iPhone 4S still runs like new. Not a glitch with latest iOS6.

iOS 6 works great for me on my iPhone 4, but my home button isn't very responsive compared to what it should be.

 

[fertilized-egg]

Another thing that hurts the iPhone sales I think is the iPod Touch. I have the new one and its basically an iPhone 5 without the calling feature. So why do I need an iPhone?

Even though it does share the screen with the iPhone 5, the iPod Touch share its processor with the iPhone 4S and its camera uses the sensor from the iPhone 4. In other words it's not "basically an iPhone 5".

I really love the form factor of the iPod Touch and think it's the best pocket smart-device around but the lack of mobile connectivity does hurt it a lot. Wi-fi is nice but just not the same.

 

[Blakjack]

I really don't think it's right to call android the largest "smartphone platform", because:

1. Really its "mobile platform" and when you look at the post-PC era, tablets, namely the iPad Market is a big chunk of mobil devices, and when you include these numbers- the iPad has really dominant share making iOS the dominant platform. Looking just at "smartphones" is selective reporting to try and exclude the market where Apple has had the most success, skewing the numbers in favor of android.

2. Android is hugely fragmented. iOS devices are mostly all running the latest iOS software and even ones that aren't can all run apps without modification. This is not true on android where covering %80 of the market requires changing your app to support 167!!! different devices.

3. I don't consider android to really be a platform, simply because it is so compromised. As a ripoff of iOS they had to rush it to market and in doing so compromised a lot of functionality.

4. Android is primarily sold to feature phone buyers as if it were a featurephone. These people walk in to get "a phone" and get sold android by the weenies at the carriers store... but they don't use them for apps or for even browsing the web, which is why the web stats on android are so pitiful. Android is really a feature phone operating system (hence the fragmentation and incompatibility)

5. You'd be just as correct to lump all the other Linux derivatives together and claim that there's a "linux smartphone platform".

6. We don't have real hard numbers for shipping devices for android. Amazon doesn't publish actual numbers. Google doesn't publish actual numbers. Samsung doesn't publish actual numbers. There's a lot of hype and BS claims that these devices are selling in huge numbers, but when samsung was forced to report actual sales in the lawsuit last year, it turns out that when journalists were claiming big sales the reality was pitiful. Most of these "sales" are actually non-android featurephones also sold by these companies who don't break them out because they want to seem more dominant than they are.

Get me real numbers reported in annual or quarterly reports that would result in an investigation by the SEC and charges of fraud if they were made up-- and use those.

Apple provides them. Until android manufacturers are willing to report the numbers under penalty of perjury like Apple does, they're just PR smoke, nothing more. (or analysts "projections")

These stats are being distorted by the propaganda of android fans who claim that it is a platform, and a smartphone platform at that and that it is dominant

Good Job

 

[blackcrayon]

When did market share and install base become synonyms? The article itself says they are measuring install base, which isn't market share, but the headline says market share (which is supposed to be sales over a period of time, a month or a quarter or a year, etc). Apple's actual market share seemed to be much higher over the time period in question based on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint's numbers.

I realize the US isn't the world, but I find it a little funny that people who spout world statistics conveniently ignore the fact that both Apple and Google are US companies, who offer their products and services first in the US. The app store is populated mostly by US developers with apps targeted at US users. It doesn't mean the rest of the world isn't important, but it DOES mean that the US is still one of the most important and influential markets for these companies (and may be the largest in terms of users purchasing high end phones).

 

[clibinarius]

It is quite hilarious how the rabid cult of anti-apple zeolots feel the need to claim that they have "i-devices" (oh yeah? why be dismissive? Why not say "iOS devices" which is accurate?)

It happens every time.

Its as if you don't realize it has become such a cliche.

Such a joke that whenever you do it, anyone who isn't a rabid anti-apple bigot just laughs and laughs and laughs!

Too bad you didn't have anything of substance to back up your response, and thus the level of discourse here is as low as it is everywhere else in america-- uninformed ideology unable to respond to informed argument.

I do. It is called articles like these.

By the way, your posts are hilarious. You've really made my day. So long as you aren't serious. Then I'm not sure what to think.

 

[Navdakilla]

booya

 

[CEmajr]

Impressive for Apple. Especially considering that there are tons of low cost Android devices on smaller carriers and even that Tmobile doesnt carry the thing yet. I see iPhones everywhere here so the numbers don't surprise me at all.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Never mind these pesky sales numbers....LOOK OVER HERE!!! Apple is doomed, doomed I tell you. SamSung and Google are the real innovators...Apple stole everything from them. I mean just look what they have invented without stealing from Apple.....<insert sound of crickets>

 

[TallManNY]

Another thing that hurts the iPhone sales I think is the iPod Touch. I have the new one and its basically an iPhone 5 without the calling feature. So why do I need an iPhone? I dont. I can have an Android phone (I have the Note 2) while also taking full advantage of iOS and all its apps and features. Win/win in my book but not so much for iPhone sales.

Yes a win for iPod Touch sales. Also a win for iOS developers if that is where you use most of your apps. Especially the paid ones.
Android is good as far as I can tell with my Nexus 7. I'm just not sure if I trust any of the manufacturers to make a two year commitment over just getting an iPhone. Lets see how well the GS3 ages compared to the 4s and the 5.