Android Tops 50%, iOS Hits 30% in U.S. Smartphone Installed User Base

[Michael Scrip]

Most people don't really care what they answer phone calls on. Price will always dictate sales regardless of two devices functions. The more expensive device will win out when the buyer has the discretionary income to purchase those things. It's only natural for Android to maintain a great lead in numbers. How this plays out in the long run is anybody's guess. With saturation like that seen in the Android phone market, you will undoubtedly see more developers take notice. Along with the ability to create your own marketplace that is independent of the actual OS is very cool. Look at Valve, their mobile app is already selling their online pc content. It's only a sneeze away from selling it's own app version of Android OS..It's little things like that which make the world look really neat and a nice place to do direct sales. Will developers want to keep dishing out money to apple via percentage skimmed off the top with new markets opening on the other horizon? Who knows.

- Other companies like Amazon can rebrand Android for their own gain...

- Anyone can make their own store outside of the Google universe...

- And AI just reported that Samsung is planning their own ad network...

What the hell is going on here? Has Google lost control?

Pretty soon we won't even recognize "Android" anymore...

 

[illian]

Many of my friends now use Android phones...

i just replaced my 3GS with a Nexus..can't be happier. ICS on phones is really great now! I do not miss my iPhone at all..and I saved over 200€! 😉

well this is my opinion...having a choice is a good thing!

 

[KnightWRX]

Wow, talk about the "let's talk down the Android numbers" circle jerk going on. 🙄

Some people just can't admit that something other than an Apple product can have its own success. They have to play down everything.

 

[vrDrew]

Dont worry android is here to stay like it or not. People want choice and thats why android is so popular . think about it and maybe you will understand. enjoy.

No. People don't want "choice" - they want a phone.

Today many of them are buying Android phones because thats what their phone carrier is offering them. Just like three years ago they were buying Blackberrys - because that was what their carrier was offering them.

I'd really recommend anyone interested take a look at the Asymco blog on the subject of Android's finances.

As a result of the Oracle lawsuit, Google has (for the first time) released some actual numbers as to its revenue from Android. From 2008 through 2011, Google had $544 million in pure "Android revenue" - which sounds like a lot, until you start subtracting out all the costs Android incurs.

So in terms of returns, Android is sustainable. However, in relative terms the value created leaves much to be desired. Whereas Android generates $1.70/device/year and thus an Android device with a two year life generates about $3.5 to Google over its life, Apple obtained $576.3 for each iOS device it sold in 2011

 

[Sensation]

No. People don't want "choice" - they want a phone.

Today many of them are buying Android phones because thats what their phone carrier is offering them. Just like three years ago they were buying Blackberrys - because that was what their carrier was offering them.

All the carriers in the UK offer iphones and Android phone but that hasn't stopped the Android domination over here. Out and about you see way more Android phones now, most people have the top range Android phones such as the Galaxy S2 and Sensation. Its quite rare to see people on the bus/train using an iphone.

 

[ChazUK]

No. People don't want "choice" - they want a phone.

Is it not a little naive to assume that all of those people using Google Maps Navigation simply wanted a phone? How about the million people who downloaded Instagram yesterday? Or the 50,000,000+ people that have installed Angry Birds from the Play Market? Then there are those that I see about on their Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Blackberry handsets listening to music or radio on their travels.

Incredible assumptions being made here.

 

[Wicked1]

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[/COLOR]

I said it before and I'll say it again. 2 iPhones =/= 200 Android phones.

Especially considering the fact that Apple actually makes money selling the phones they make.

I just don't see the comparison sorry :/

Edit: It seems I did forget about the 3GS. A $0.99 3 year old phone that is going to be discontinued by the end of the year...And still sells better than most free Android phones.

Not bad for one company that makes one brand of phone and one os to compete with Android which is on several mfg phones with many different models and versions of iOS.

I say let's compare Apple's to Apple's here, pick one android os and one phone, the iPhone is truly going to be the one on top after all the dust settles and everyone gets tired of dealing with the laggy and odd issues on Android.

 

[foodog]

That's what most Mac users said about the PC and Windows in the early 90s.

.... and what is the state of MS vs Apple - or - Dell vs Apple now?

 

[BvizioN]

It means exactly the same to both geeks and non-geeks - faster and better phones.

No, it doesn't. Majority of people want a phone that works flawlessly. I used to care myself about that stuff until i realised it means absolutely nothing. iOS devices are living proof of that. They work flawlessly and have the best user experience and at the same time they are less beefed up with specs compare to some clunky monster specs devices out there. This is what sets Apple apart from the rest. They care about user experience and not meaningless specs.

 

[bpaluzzi]

You are posting to a wrong forum. Go to investment forums with this stuff. For regular phone users vendor profits do not matter (if anything, higher profits simply indicates how much you were ripped of). Market share is another matter. The more Android devices there is, the more app developers will be interested to develop for Android. As far as phones are concerned, Android Market already offers the same (probably even greater) number of apps as App Store. Very soon the developers will be treating iOS like a poor cousin (remember Mas vs PC story?).

Your entire argument is flawed, because Android is quite a bit behind iOS in market share. Smartphone marketshare means nothing. Mobile OS marketshare means something. Handset marketshare means something. Apple is "winning" both of those fights.

is the high end phone market. Apple has conceded high end smartphone market to Android. Compared to Android phones, iPhone is way behind:

* no 4G (LTE)
* only 512 MB RAM (half of Android phones)
* only 800MHz CPU (half of what Android best phones offer)
* only 2 cores (same story - half)
* no HD screen
* VGA front facing camera (5x lower resolution than Android phones have)
* no memory card support

HAHAHAHAHAH. Geeks. Gotta love em!

It means exactly the same to both geeks and non-geeks - faster and better phones.

It's a shame that specs don't actually translate directly into performance, otherwise you might actually have a point. As it is now, you don't. But nice try!

All the carriers in the UK offer iphones and Android phone but that hasn't stopped the Android domination over here. Out and about you see way more Android phones now, most people have the top range Android phones such as the Galaxy S2 and Sensation. Its quite rare to see people on the bus/train using an iphone.

Not sure where in the UK you are, but you should visit London some time. Android is a tiny minority, about on par with RIMM here.

 

[KdParker]

What is going on with Microsoft? I assume that some of the losses from MS's side is the decrease in Windows Mobile handset sales but WP7 really needs some momentum.

First it was NoDo that was supposed to bring sales, then people were saying Mango was Microsoft's turning point, now we wait for Nokia and the Lumia 710 and 900 to turn things around. I think my Titan and WP7 are great but it's a shame to see the lack of progress from Microsoft in the U.S.

Well done to Apple (especially as the iOS share is all of theirs).

Agreed - my kid have an WP7 phone and it is pretty nice. I also started reproducing my IOS apps for WP7. Not sure why this phone isn't gaining any traction.

 

[warfed]

.... and what is the state of MS vs Apple - or - Dell vs Apple now?

And what's the state of MS vs Apple? MS has 90% market share in computers...

 

[the8thark]

Don't forget non-phone, non-tablet devices like the iPod touch and Apple TV.

Agreed agreed.
It's all more iOS devices in people's hands.

Well technically the TV is not iOS. But an offshoot of iOS. As far as I know. But I get your point loud and clear. The iOS vs Android war is so much more then just a smartphone war.

 

[kdarling]

(the) entire argument is flawed, because Android is quite a bit behind iOS in market share. Smartphone marketshare means nothing. Mobile OS marketshare means something. Handset marketshare means something. Apple is "winning" both of those fights.

It's almost always a mistake to hang "winning" purely on sales numbers. (Apple fans, of all people, should know this.)

It's silly to watch people (on any side) solely say that "more sales = better". That is, until their favorite side sells less. Then suddenly they flip-flip and "more sales = must not be as valuable" 🙂

Heck, often the lowest sales in the world are for the most valuable things. People often would rather have a rare thing than what every other person has!

In this thread, sales counts are an especially poor debate position to use, because total Android OS share will be moving past total iOS share within a year, if not within a few months.

There's also the problem of how useful old counts are. iOS devices have been on sale for years longer than Android devices. And what about ten or twenty years from now? Will people still be trying to quote "total sales" since day one? Not very meaningful by then.

A more important marketshare number is how many are in current usage.

 

[Tarzanman]

Agreed - my kid have an WP7 phone and it is pretty nice. I also started reproducing my IOS apps for WP7. Not sure why this phone isn't gaining any traction.

1. Because Microsoft is entering a saturated market 2 years late.
2. Because their two main competitors (iOS, Android) still offer more features, more applications and (arguably) better hardware specs.

Windows will gain market share, but they are going to have to fight tooth and nail for every user before they reach a critical mass. Apple benefitted from iTunes already being on many systems due to the iPod and Google benefited from everyone on the entire planet using their search, map and email services.

What would Microsoft's advantage be? The fact that everyone uses windows? I think that is what Windows 8 i supposed to offer and it isn't out yet (beta notwithstanding).

 

[faroZ06]

It's almost always a mistake to hang "winning" purely on sales numbers. (Apple fans, of all people, should know this.)

It's silly to watch people (on any side) solely say that "more sales = better". That is, until their favorite side sells less. Then suddenly they flip-flip and "more sales = must not be as valuable" 🙂

Heck, often the lowest sales in the world are for the most valuable things. People often would rather have a rare thing than what every other person has!

In this thread, sales counts are an especially poor debate position to use, because total Android OS share will be moving past total iOS share within a year, if not within a few months.

There's also the problem of how useful old counts are. iOS devices have been on sale for years longer than Android devices. And what about ten or twenty years from now? Will people still be trying to quote "total sales" since day one? Not very meaningful by then.

A more important marketshare number is how many are in current usage.

Yeah, market share does not dictate how "good" a device or company is. However, it can be dangerous to go too low because developers and users will leave a sinking OS.

The reason I want the Mac and iOS to do well in market share is that I want the platform I think is better to be more widely used. When you use the most widely used OS, everyone makes stuff work for you. Until recently, a lot of things "for the computer" were really just for Windows. It gets annoying. The downside to being on the popular OS is that searching for help on it is difficult because you find fools asking dumb questions all the time.

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1. Because Microsoft is entering a saturated market 2 years late.
2. Because their two main competitors (iOS, Android) still offer more features, more applications and (arguably) better hardware specs.

Windows will gain market share, but they are going to have to fight tooth and nail for every user before they reach a critical mass. Apple benefitted from iTunes already being on many systems due to the iPod and Google benefited from everyone on the entire planet using their search, map and email services.

What would Microsoft's advantage be? The fact that everyone uses windows? I think that is what Windows 8 i supposed to offer and it isn't out yet (beta notwithstanding).

I can't see a single reason to get a Windows Phone. I doubt it even works well with Windows PCs considering how badly Windows works with Microsoft's own software. They have no music store, barely any apps, and nothing as good as iTunes. Meanwhile, I connect my iPhone to my Mac, and iTunes syncs all of my stuff with it.

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Many of my friends now use Android phones...

i just replaced my 3GS with a Nexus..can't be happier. ICS on phones is really great now! I do not miss my iPhone at all..and I saved over 200€! 😉

well this is my opinion...having a choice is a good thing!

How did you save 200€ from switching phones?

Also, it's kind of a Mac vs Windows thing. A lot of people who switched from Windows XP to Lion thought Mac OS was way more modern. I agree that it is better, but they are comparing their old Windows computer to their new Mac. As a result, people who switch to Mac never go back. It's an unfair comparison, and people at my school who switched to Mac really hate Windows now and think it's really clunky.

So you're comparing the 2009 3GS to the 2012 Nexus.

 

[Derpage]

Your entire argument is flawed, because Android is quite a bit behind iOS in market share. Smartphone marketshare means nothing. Mobile OS marketshare means something. Handset marketshare means something. Apple is "winning" both of those fights.

For the three-month average period ending in February, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 19.4 percent share. Apple captured the #3 ranking in February with 13.5 percent of mobile subscribers (up 2.3 percentage points), followed by Motorola at 12.8 percent. HTC moved into the #5 position in February at 6.3 percent (up 0.4 percentage points).

Edit: I'll take their actual research over your anecdotes any day!

 

[bpaluzzi]

For the three-month average period ending in February, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 19.4 percent share. Apple captured the #3 ranking in February with 13.5 percent of mobile subscribers (up 2.3 percentage points), followed by Motorola at 12.8 percent. HTC moved into the #5 position in February at 6.3 percent (up 0.4 percentage points).

Edit: I'll take their actual research over your anecdotes any day!

You haven't said anything that is remotely related to what I said. Apple has the #1, #2, and #3 selling smartphone handsets, and most popular mobile operating system. But awesome research, nonetheless 🙄

 

[vrDrew]

It's almost always a mistake to hang "winning" purely on sales numbers. (Apple fans, of all people, should know this.)
.

As far as Apple (iOS) users are concerned, the important question is: Is Android likely to surpass (or even challenge) iOS in terms of developer resources?

Are App Developers (as well as content providers, accessory makers, infrastructure companies,etc.) going to start developing for Android at the expense of iOS devices?

To which the answer has to be, at this particular juncture, an unambiguous no. Even if Android outsold (or, more accurately out-shipped) iOS by a margin or two or three to one, it is that all-important revenue figure that keeps an ecosystem healthy. And that is why there ought to be concern on the Android side of things.

Right now, the only companies benefitting from the growth of Android seem to be handset makers and cellular providers. The HTCs and Samsungs of the world are seeing strong sales, and reasonable profits. The ATTs and O2s and Deutsche Telekoms are doing well up selling feature-phone users to Android - but even these companies recognize the importance of being able to offer an iPhone to their customers.

Strangely enough, the most recent figures seem to indicate that even Google does better out of iPhone customers than it does out of Android users. Which must make for some interesting conversations around the organic juice bar out in Mountain View.....

 

[foodog]

And what's the state of MS vs Apple? MS has 90% market share in computers...

...and declining. PC sales are going down Mac sales are going up. PC manufacturers are in bad shape these days.

 

[warfed]

...and declining. PC sales are going down Mac sales are going up. PC manufacturers are in bad shape these days.

Yes it is... Mac market share doubled in the last 5 years.... from 5% to a whopping 10% 😀 Those poor PC manufactures and their 86% market share.

But hey I'm happy if Apple continues to have such a low market share, it'll keep the viruses away form my mac.

 

[kdarling]

Yeah, market share does not dictate how "good" a device or company is. However, it can be dangerous to go too low because developers and users will leave a sinking OS.

Two thoughts:

1) It's okay for relative share to drop, as long as the absolute numbers are still good.

2) As long as developers make money, they'll stick around. Ironically, that would actually be easier if there were less developers to compete with!

As far as Apple (iOS) users are concerned, the important question is: Is Android likely to surpass (or even challenge) iOS in terms of developer resources?

Hmm. Let's suppose that Android did drain off a lot of iOS developers. The question then is: are apps the most important reason for iOS users to stick around?

--

I can't help but feel a bit of deja vu. We've seen these questions many times before. Another mobile system could show up and blow both Android and iOS out of the water, making this discussion moot. If we've learned anything from history, it's that it's impossible to reliably predict details in this market ten or twenty years ahead of time 🙂

 

[mbell1975]

Here is a sad look at the pathetic update (or should I say NON update) history of Android phones last few years..

http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support

 

[ChazUK]

Here is a sad look at the pathetic update (or should I say NON update) history of Android phones last few years..

http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support

Never been an issue for me buying GSM Nexus handsets. If people were really bothered about firmware updates, the Nexus like would be a sales hit and all the cutesy TouchWiz/Sense/Motoblur stuff out there that people insist on owning would be dead in the water.

With all the Android handsets you say you've owned in the past (was it 7 you said?) it's amazing you didn't figure out Nexis handsets were the ones to get if updates were your be all and end all. They've always been main focus when it came to development too.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Dev_Phone

To people that care: Make the Nexus a success. Show HTC, Samsung, Motorola, LG, Sony that you don't want them to interfere with updates by customising Android.

To people that don't care: Carry on.

 

[Sensation]

Its so easy to add your own roms to Android, no wonder its the domination force and pushing the smartphone industry forward. Ice Cream Sandwich is very impressive.