Android Dominates Nearly 80% of Smartphone Market, iOS Drops to 13% Share

[jjrtiger]

This is not really anything new for Apple.

• Apple doesn't try to have as many features as possible in their products; they pick a few and do them better than anyone else and sell this at a premium.
  
• Android is sold on more devices whose price points, on average, are much cheaper than the iPhone. Consumers are very price conscientious these days.
  
• Some carriers even seem to prefer pitching Android before iPhone when a customer walks into a store.
  
• Android is a decent OS

That's pretty much why Android has 80% market share and will remain the dominant platform.

 

[CWallace]

Strange isn't it how history repeats and Apple does not learn. Apple computers could be on almost everyone's desk and Apple computers could run the work, in the same way PC's do now if Apple did what Microsoft did.

Considering the legal issues Microsoft had with the US and EU governments over the practices they followed to get into a position to put a Windows PC on every desk, I doubt Apple is interested in trying to pursue such a path - especially since they've broken that stranglehold and now instead of a computer on every desk running Windows, they're moving towards an iPad on every lap running iOS.

Plus Apple is making a nice pile of money on what Macs they do sell - which is why companies like HP are adopting much of their design aesthetics.

Who really gives a **** about 'world wide' marketshare?

Unfortunately, the asshat analysts on Wall Street.

Then again, Apple could just chase marketshare with low margin products and put their entire business model in jeopardy.

But the stock price would be in the four-digits, no doubt.

 

[pirg]

Oh boy not another market share study. We get it, there's a crapload of cheap android phones in use...

 

[unlinked]

Probably not until app developers no longer make public statements like this:

Full statement :

iPad: 154
Android: 8
Android pirates: 2,462
(iPad pirates: unknown)

 

[toshiba1]

iOS might get some traction if Apple cuts the umbilical cord between iOS and iTunes. Which is unlikely to happen.

it used to be like that, but now there is not a need for iTunes anymore.

 

[appleisking]

iOS stands no chance against Android no matter how many cheap phones Apple puts out. The cheapest phone Apple puts out will still be way expensive than the much cheaper handsets put out by Chinese manufacturers like MicroMax,Karbonne etc... Yes they are just in the asian market right now. Not sure about what is happening in EU.

That being said, iOS still reigns supreme as the creamiest smoothest OS for mobiles. Android still has a long way to go. I have a SG S4 and a Sony Experia Tab Z. Love the hardware on both but it's nowhere close to iOS.

iOS might get some traction if Apple cuts the umbilical cord between iOS and iTunes. Which is unlikely to happen.

Android users walk into a store, buy the phone sign in to Google and done. No "Connect to iTunes to activate" crap. Not sure if that's how it is done now, but that's how I had to do it when I got my iPhone 4S 2 years ago.

You do have to activate the phone, but you by no means have to do it thru itunes just use wifi thru the device, but yes it's a fact you're much more free on android

 

[macsrcool1234]

I think too many people (admittedly myself included) underestimate Android still.

I used it recently and quite frankly - its not the piece of junk it was a few years ago.

Android users walk into a store, buy the phone sign in to Google and done. No "Connect to iTunes to activate" crap. Not sure if that's how it is done now, but that's how I had to do it when I got my iPhone 4S 2 years ago.

Luckily you can activate (and use) the iPhone without ever syncing to a computer. I personally think iTunes is terribly coded software (at least on Windows) and applaud Apple for no longer requiring iOS to sync to a computer.

 

[autrefois]

Yes, that's what they could do if they cared about marketshare. But they don't. ANY companies number 1 goal is profit, profit, and profit. Yeah, we as consumers want cheap stuff. But so what.

I realize of course that (most) companies' number 1 goal is profit. But when did I say that Apple should make cheap stuff? There is a difference between cheap and more affordably-priced.

An example from recent Apple history — Apple realized they were charging too much for the original iPhone when it first came out (presumably because sales were lower than anticipated) and they quickly adjusted the price accordingly. There is a balance between price, profit, and marketshare.

Now that the market has changed and people (in their eyes) can get something that pretty much does the same thing as the iPhone but for cheaper, I believe it's time they did further rethinking of their price points or they will continue to lose marketshare, which will eventually (if trends continue) have an effect on their profits. Short-term, they are doing fine. But you can't just continue to lose marketshare and still maintain or increase profits.

You still haven't convinced me that marketshare is more important than profit. YOU may want more people to have iPhones to make yourself feel better about your purchase.

I'm sorry you have to resort to ad hominem attacks to try to support your point. You are saying that I just want iPhone marketshare to be higher so I can feel better about myself?

I clearly stated the reasons I don't want marketshare to dip any lower, so please re-read them. In short, iOS now has a small share (13%) of a market Apple once dominated. The trend is downward. I don't want them to get back to a point where their products make a lot of money, but there are fewer apps available for them. And you even acknowledge this is a valid point:

That being said, I understand marketshare is needed to an extent. If Apple goes down to 5% marketshare that could start to have a negative impact. And I think that's why the iPhone 5C will mitigate that possibility. But I don't think Apple needs to release a $200 phone. That would hurt them far more than help them.

What makes the 5% point a magical point that should not be crossed? Why should we not be worried at 13% when the trend is already downward?

I hope that I am wrong, and hope there will be a new iPhone that will blow everyone away and a more affordable option (whether it's the iPhone 5C or whatever they do) that can compete with the others both on features and price. But thought I would chime in because there seemed to be a groupthink saying that everything is fine because Apple is still making gobs of money even though a smaller and smaller percentage of people have iPhones. Maybe making tons of money isn't the most important thing in the world.

 

[840quadra]

That's not guaranteed. Apple can't keep selling inferior hardware for inflated prices. People are not going to buy iPhones if they have lower specs than, say, Samsung Galaxy phones and higher prices. Wireless carriers will stop giving iPhone higher subsidies than they do to other vendors. Apple profit margins will shrink. It does not mean that they can't survive. But it does look like the iPod phenomena is not in the cards for iPhone.

Detractors like yourself have been saying that Apple has always sold inferior hardware at marked up prices. Yet, they have somehow found profit with such devices / equipment.

Don't get me wrong, I am not blindly supporting the current Model for Apple either. I totally agree with the opinion that the iPod model will not work in this case. Personally I wish they would scrap their rigid scheduled updates, and add some spice to the iOS world with new devices, with new features and a bit more openness.

Time to start thinking differently again, take changes with some products, and keep people on their toes!

 

[SPUY767]

The problem is that the market grew by 50% YOY and Apple only grabbed 6.5% of those new customers.

The problem is that there is a huge segment of the market that doesn't want a smartphone, but gets whatever crap the carrier foists on them anyway. Those customers exist in a segment of the market where there is no profit, and Apple is never going to play in that segment of the market.

 

[appleisking]

Apple has repeated "We just want to make great products". They say "winning has never been about having the most".

And here comes the budget iPhone.

What does that tell you?

Nothing.... Apple has made no announcements or comments about a budget iphone. We simply put don't know for sure what's going to roll out.

 

[BaldiMac]

iOS stands no chance against Android no matter how many cheap phones Apple puts out. The cheapest phone Apple puts out will still be way expensive than the much cheaper handsets put out by Chinese manufacturers like MicroMax,Karbonne etc... Yes they are just in the asian market right now. Not sure about what is happening in EU.

Of course, most of them aren't really Android phones, but why quibble?

iOS might get some traction if Apple cuts the umbilical cord between iOS and iTunes. Which is unlikely to happen.

It happened two years ago.

Android users walk into a store, buy the phone sign in to Google and done. No "Connect to iTunes to activate" crap. Not sure if that's how it is done now, but that's how I had to do it when I got my iPhone 4S 2 years ago.

That's not how you had to do it when you got your iPhone 4S 2 years ago.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


Apple's iOS is losing ground to Android when it comes to smartphone operating system market share, according to a new report from research firm IDC. Apple's share of worldwide smartphone shipments dropped to 13.2% during the second quarter of 2013, while Android climbed to 79.3%.

During the same quarter last year, Apple held 16.6% of the market, while Android held 69.1%. Despite its slight loss of share, iOS remains the number two operating system, with Android and iOS combined making up 92.5% of shipments.

ImageWorldwide Smartphone Shipments in 2Q13 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)​

Windows Phone continues to gain market share as well, coming in at 3.7% during the second quarter of 2013, up 77.6% from its 3.1% share during Q2 2012.

Other operating systems are consistently losing ground to the top three operating systems with BlackBerry OS representing 2.9% of shipments, Linux at 0.8%, and Symbian at 0.2%.

Last week, IDC released its estimates on worldwide mobile phone sales, showing slowing growth for Apple's iPhone. Apple shipped 31.2 million iPhones during the second quarter of 2013, representing 13.1% of the market. Samsung shipped 72.4 million, for a market share of 30.4%.

Those numbers may shift in the coming quarters as Apple gears up to launch its next generation iPhone and a new low-cost iPhone, possibly as early as September.

Article Link: Android Dominates Nearly 80% of Smartphone Market, iOS Drops to 13% Share

Point of clarification: Is their computation of 'market share' based on the number 'shipped', or the number 'sold'? The reason I ask is that I remember reading an inflated number for Zune sales, and afterwards running into a display case full of Zune's at the local Target, and getting 'they are not selling' from the Best Buy here. The Zune 'shipped' well, but to say that equated to high sales was likely seriously devoid of any truth.

 

[Jibbajabba]

Android vs. IOS discussions are like a cow's digestive system. No matter how often you chew, it'll turn into sh*** one way or another.

 

[avanpelt]

Casually looking around, I'd have guessed it's the other way around.

I'd have to agree with you. Even though I know Android is winning the numbers game in terms of shipments, what I see looking around are iPhones. . .everywhere. But then again, I'm in Atlanta -- a major metro in the U.S. Things could -- and probably do -- look markedly different out in more rural areas of the U.S. and in other parts of the world.

I just hope Apple continues to innovate well in the smartphone space. They may never have as many shipments as Android devices; but all that really matters is that the user base remains loyal and continues to grow -- even if only modestly.

Ten years ago, almost everyone who had a "real smartphone" was carrying a BlackBerry or something that looked like a BlackBerry wanna be. Oh, how the tables have turned on RIM/BlackBerry in a less than a decade. They didn't anticipate what their user base came to want and expect from their smartphones as the competition gained momentum; and thus they began their long downward spiral.

 

[Four oF NINE]

I really don't care about any of this. It makes no difference to me how many people are buying brand X. So long as I'm happy with iPhone, I'm good.

 

[olowott]

only if this could convince the bank accounts of everyone of them

 

[Apollo 13]

Don't care since most of the ppl I know use iPhones. I won't be going back to android since I remember how horrible mms was and then I'll lose iMessage. All this shows is ppl in china and India are buying a lot of cheap android phones. In America it seems like majority of ppl have iPhones.

 

[ElTorro]

Again.... we're talking shipments here... not sales... don't know how many of those new shipments are sitting dead on shelves???

You are right. I am sure there are 150 million devices for Q2 are sitting in secret warehouses in a big conspiracy to make it look like Apple is loosing market share like a deflated balloon.

 

[Ryth]

That's pretty much why Android has 80% market share and will remain the dominant platform.

25% of the profits is not dominant.

 

[avanpelt]

The Zune 'shipped' well, but to say that equated to high sales was likely seriously devoid of any truth.

The Surface Pro/RT tablets "shipped" well, too. Microsoft seems to be incredibly good at shipping a ton of hardware. They just have to work on the selling aspect of the equation.

 

[Eidorian]

Detractors like yourself have been saying that Apple has always sold inferior hardware at marked up prices. Yet, they have somehow found profit with such devices / equipment.

Don't get me wrong, I am not blindly supporting the current Model for Apple either. I totally agree with the opinion that the iPod model will not work in this case. Personally I wish they would scrap their rigid scheduled updates, and add some spice to the iOS world with new devices, with new features and a bit more openness.

Time to start thinking differently again, take changes with some products, and keep people on their toes!

I was close to buying an ASUS Haswell notebook with a 1080p IPS touchscreen. I footed the $89 for an OWC battery for my 6 year old MacBook instead. I really enjoy your schedule Apple...

At least I can buy Android devices on a whim since someone is going to have something new at some time, regardless of the time of year or to boost a quarter's profits to look good.

 

[Ryth]

You are right. I am sure there are 150 million devices for Q2 are sitting in secret warehouses in a big conspiracy to make it look like Apple is loosing market share like a deflated balloon.

Go look up the Apple vs Samsung trial and their shipped vs actual sales #s. SS had to actually show sales for their tablets and mobile phones to actually say that they were no threat to Apple because their sales were horrible and low. This was in direct contrast to the 10s of millions of shipped units vs the actual sale of a few million.

So yes, there are millions upon millions of android devices that never get sold and are sitting in warehouses and then shipped back and recycled.

 

[SeattleMoose]

The device markets will reach the same sort of equilibrium as Mac OS vs Windows. The educated and more affluent (which are a distinct minority) will make up the bulk of Apple customers while the drooling masses will remain in the Windows/Android camp.

It is what it is....$$$ and IQ.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Android users walk into a store, buy the phone sign in to Google and done. No "Connect to iTunes to activate" crap. Not sure if that's how it is done now, but that's how I had to do it when I got my iPhone 4S 2 years ago.

Sorry to ask a painfully obvious (to me) question, but how is "sign in to Google" different than "Connect to iTunes"?

Also I can buy apps, music, movies, books, ring tones, etc, ALL without connecting to my computer. How is that any different?

If you refer to the idea that iTunes has a 'life guard', well then look at the history of malicious apps and other crap that the Android has suffered with since it hit the streets.

I find a lot of the FUD about the iPhone and iTunes is just sturm und drang manufactured to scare people away from the iPhone. Basically a form of gorilla marketing. I for one like the idea that the damn phone works and the apps don't kill it, and I appreciate not losing my address book every few months, etc... To paraphrase a friends teenage daughter: 'Android is cool. It sucks, but it's cool. I just use it to text'. Well, at least Android can text well... Thank god for that, eh...