iOS Remains More Popular Than Android for Holiday Shopping in the U.S.

[szw-mapple fan]

YI'm a teacher and have to collect my students' phones on a regular basis. I'd say about 90% of all the phones I collect are iPhones. However, of those 90%, at least 80% are iPhone 4 models and even some 3GSs. Apple used to be popular but the newer models don't sell at all among younger people.

If 90% are iPhones, then that does not prove that it is losing popularity because your students not switching to android or WP. Parents can't buy kids new phones every other year. iPhone 4/4s is still a good or usable phone although a 3GS might not be the phone it used to be. Judging from your comment Switzerland is among the earliest adopters. Japan's iPhone boom really took off only after the 5 launch so everyone has a relatively new model here. My friends who were early adopter is still clinging on to their 4/4s.

----------

For example my colleague has his quad-core Android plugged in all day because the battery (which he'll always boast is 4x the size of mine... so is 'better') becomes drained within ~3 hours of usage. His camera takes high MP, useless quality photos... which he can view on a lower resolution but physically larger screen (which doesn't fit into his pockets so has to be carried in his hand or a man bag).

What phone is that? (So I can tell my android friends not to buy that model)

 

[Brittany246]

It's the very very very worst part about some Apple fans, actually thinking they are better than others simply because they feel their phone is nicer

Same goes for Android fans. There are snobs in both camps.

 

[Glideslope]

Lol

Simply furthers my opinion that the majority of Samsung users are talk and text only. Sure there are more Samsung Devices, but they are not being used to to purchase items other than an App, or Song.

Really should be no surprise. iOS is a more locked down OS. Your going to see many more iPads in advertising spots in 2014.

Big Galaxy Phones will always be toys. Video/Movie viewing, and Game Playing. 9 out of 10 will give one of these answers for the purchase.

iOS and Android had better watch WIN8 Mobile in 2014. All Redmond needs is a leader with a vision to be right back in play. I spent quite a bit of time over the Holiday on a family members Nokia 925. All it needs is more App Development.
Very nice interface IMO.

But for now, iOS is clearly the Digital Wallet of choice.

----------

Yes, and data on middle income/rich people in the US (iOS users) is more valuable than data on poor people in Africa with Android feature phones.

Yes it is. Maybe not so in another 20.

 

[MrXiro]

And the smug!

What does a dragon have to do with this?

 

[Poisonivy326]

Since iOS doesn't make a differentiation between iphone and ipad, I'd be really interested to see if most of these purchases are made over ipad or iphone. I'd bet that most of the big-item purchases are made through the ipad, which is not surprising since the tablet market is still so dominated by ipads.

 

[deluxeshredder]

Android users also seem to go for raw numbers/gimmicks vs style and real-world performance.

They just have choice.

For example my colleague has his quad-core Android plugged in all day because the battery (which he'll always boast is 4x the size of mine... so is 'better') becomes drained within ~3 hours of usage. His camera takes high MP, useless quality photos... which he can view on a lower resolution but physically larger screen (which doesn't fit into his pockets so has to be carried in his hand or a man bag).

My phablet holds charge for more than any iPhone, has a higher resolution screen than any iPhone, doesn't have a disgusting UI like any recently updated iPhone and fits into any pocket just like any iPhone.

It's hard to describe the iPhone users (me) vs the Android users. Takes me back to the old Mac v Windows days. Style, simplicity and real-world performance vs big ugly boxes made of cheap plastic that I've never really seen the sense behind.

I see much more style and real-world performance in Android now and I don't see much sense in Apple's recent Android knockoff.

 

[samcraig]

I just don't find this much of a news story nor worth something to really care all that much about. YAY - Apple users spend more money and do more online shopping with their phones during the holiday season. If I was a retailer I would put more spend into advertising or working on my iOS App if that's the case. Or perhaps I would choose to ignore them since they are already doing quite well and instead try to increase my response on Android.

In either event - this sums it up for me

 

[mpantone]

I tend to agree. The headline might have been written more clearly to denote the true contents inside; the article speaks of purchases made from devices on a single day during the holiday shopping season, Christmas Day (2013 implied).

A single day does not constitute Holiday Shopping (implied season).

And the irony is some readers might argue that Christmas Day itself is not part of the shopping season as it transitions to returns and the post-holiday market.

Yes, but the Christmas Day IBM report parallels the Black Friday and Cyber Monday results.

Note that a lot of people get gift cards for Christmas; it is most definitely an important day for online shopping.

 

[lazard]

Such a pointless metric.

 

[stars_fan]

If 90% are iPhones, then that does not prove that it is losing popularity because your students not switching to android or WP. Parents can't buy kids new phones every other year. iPhone 4/4s is still a good or usable phone although a 3GS might not be the phone it used to be. Judging from your comment Switzerland is among the earliest adopters. Japan's iPhone boom really took off only after the 5 launch so everyone has a relatively new model here. My friends who were early adopter is still clinging on to their 4/4s.

----------



What phone is that? (So I can tell my android friends not to buy that model)

Probably one of the Note models.

 

[LordVic]

Probably one of the Note models.

I highly recommend that he takes his phone in. thats not normal behaviour by any of the note models.

sounds like a Lemon. its an unfortunate part of any tehcnology. There are always a few duds in every manufacture. Apple isn't free of this either.

 

[Piggie]

Same goes for Android fans. There are snobs in both camps.

To be fair, I don't think it's the same.

I think some Android users may look down on iOS users with a feeling that, they just want something easy and simple to use that's good enough.

I don't think there is the snobby "I bet you were rich like me and could have an apple product you poor peasant" type attitude you get from a sad minority of Apple fans.

This happens all over, Perfume, Cars, Clothing.

Perhaps lack personal confidence and have to buy something to make themselves feel better than someone else.

And one reason why I don't even had a smartphone as I watch people try and out-do each other with their mobiles. (and one of which I could buy tomorrow if I wished) and just sigh over there childish one upmanship battles.

I could buy a top of the line MacPro tomorrow, but I don't want one as what it's good as it too narrow for me.

Now, fit in a 4.5GHZ Haswell and two Nvidea Titans and I'd get one. And so would many many others.

Apple won't as it would be VASTLY cheaper than the current model and probably kill the current model.

 

[krzyglue]

To be fair, I don't think it's the same.

I think some Android users may look down on iOS users with a feeling that, they just want something easy and simple to use that's good enough.

I don't think there is the snobby "I bet you were rich like me and could have an apple product you poor peasant" type attitude you get from a sad minority of Apple fans.

This happens all over, Perfume, Cars, Clothing.

Perhaps lack personal confidence and have to buy something to make themselves feel better than someone else.

And one reason why I don't even had a smartphone as I watch people try and out-do each other with their mobiles. (and one of which I could buy tomorrow if I wished) and just sigh over there childish one upmanship battles.

I could buy a top of the line MacPro tomorrow, but I don't want one as what it's good as it too narrow for me.

Now, fit in a 4.5GHZ Haswell and two Nvidea Titans and I'd get one. And so would many many others.

Apple won't as it would be VASTLY cheaper than the current model and probably kill the current model.

Agreed. I think "snobbery" in a sense of feeling more technologically literate, choosing open source, understanding the phone's hardware internals and software, etc. is vastly vastly different (and less worse) than any sort of judgement on socio-economic status,

 

[Poisonivy326]

As someone who taught in the poorest Congressional district in the nation I can tell you that iphones were the smartphone equivalent of Nike sneakers -- a status symbol that had absolutely nothing to do with actual socioeconomic status, as many of those children were actually homeless.

We absolutely can't make value judgements on socioeconomic status of iOS vs. Android considering the secondhand/used market and the fact that many extremely poor people often buy a phone off market, sign up for a plan, and then use the plan without paying the bill until their line is disconnected.

 

[djgamble]

They just have choice.


My phablet holds charge for more than any iPhone, has a higher resolution screen than any iPhone, doesn't have a disgusting UI like any recently updated iPhone and fits into any pocket just like any iPhone.


I see much more style and real-world performance in Android now and I don't see much sense in Apple's recent Android knockoff.

LOL Funny thing is you're probably not even being paid to troll APPLE forums.

The last time I went to an Android forum was... wait, I don't visit them because I'm an Apple man.

 

[viskon]

It is finished. Android is officially the device of the poor.

An alternative paradigm :

" A fool(s) and his (their) money are soon parted "

 

[chrimux]

Rich people have iPhones, even richer people have iPads. iOS users buy more frequently than Android users and open up their wallets more every time they head to checkout line.

That's understandable, there are no cheap iPhones, no cheap iPads. They are all premium products whereas there is a mountain of cheap Android phones, and quite a few inexpensive Android tablets.

But that's just your impression. There are data plans for all types of smartphones/tablets which include a cheaper/"free" device.

Maybe the reason why more purchases are made via ios devices is just that ios users feel more comfortable in doing so.
Or maybe android users do not spend much money on the internet in general though they could afford it because they do not like online shopping.

Statistics do not provide any motivation, only numbers.
Conclusions based on statistics are highly biased based on personal preferences.

 

[chrimux]

It has already been established that iPhone/iOS users have more disposable income.

Can be, but is not the sole reason why people favor either device.
Some people I know have a higher income and are android users. Some have a much lower income and are very happy ios users.

The only difference I found so far is that those android users I know are not really interested in all the capabilities of their devices. They don't "like" their device. They just want a cheap smartphone/tablet for basic and sporadic use.

 

[yusukeaoki]

Either way Im never returning to iOS.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

Because so many people on this forum flaunt it like a status symbol. It's demeaning and somewhat dehumanizing. Sometimes I even find the way it's flaunted around really insulting, and that comes from someone that's been a Mac user a very long time - and had quite a few Mac vs PC fights (now I use both).

Honestly, I feel like a lot of people here could use a little love. There's threads where people try to feel better about buying a black phone by questioning the sexual preference of the people that don't have a black phone. That spawned threads with people feeling insecure about their purchase of non-black phones...

It's like, you know, people feel insecure or buyer's remorse or something, and they need to confirm their choice by being gross to anyone that didn't get what they got.

Listen I agree with you on all points - but the analysis of statistical research is by its very definition dehumanising - that is in fact the whole point of a statistical study, to take out the human factor and analyse the data.

Which is why your one-liner reply that implied you took a personal afront to the statistical results of the survey is odd. You've reinserted the human factor into it yourself by reacting to it the way you did. In essence the same thing many others have done that you take offense to in your post quoted above.

There is nothing in the article that implies that one platform is better than the other or that says that there aren't users out there like yourself who may not have used price as a criterion for purchase.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

Since iOS doesn't make a differentiation between iphone and ipad, I'd be really interested to see if most of these purchases are made over ipad or iphone. I'd bet that most of the big-item purchases are made through the ipad, which is not surprising since the tablet market is still so dominated by ipads.

This is covered and broken down in the article, if you read it.

 

[samcraig]

LOL Funny thing is you're probably not even being paid to troll APPLE forums.

The last time I went to an Android forum was... wait, I don't visit them because I'm an Apple man.

Imagine a world where someone can own devices from a multitude of manufacturers. And be happy with them and not being exclusive to just one.

This isn't an iPhone forum. It's not even a Apple ONLY forum. If it was - there wouldn't be stories about other companies.

Also - having a differing opinion, use case or experience that you doesn't make someone a troll.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

It is interesting to see that the trend of iOS users being more apt to spend money continues. Whether it be on apps or other areas. This becomes very important to advertisers and retailers.

Anyway, I buck the assumptions. I'm poor, but I use an iPhone (4) and iPad (1), and did most of my online shopping on the iPad.

My boyfriend browses on his android tablet, but purchases only from his desktop. He also uses my iPad a lot. I secretly thinks he likes it better.

Anyway, retailers care about this... They were/are the target audience.

 

[aristotle]

The article did the state the average amount purchased was $90+ so most likely people were shopping on their iPads and iOS definitely has the tablet market. I can't see a ton of people christmas shopping on their cell phones. Yeah, a few things here and there out of convenience but those numbers were most likely from iPad users.

Right but I'm still left wonder what exactly people with all those supposedly activated Android phones are doing with them. They don't seem to be using the web browser, buying apps, buying in app content or buying other things through their phones.

One wonders if the majority of android users don't even care that their phone is a smart phone and just got one because it was a "neat" replacement for their old phone and allowed them to customize it more.

It would be interesting to see the breakdown of how many android devices are actually on a data plan.

 

[Tech198]

(oh, there's that U.S thing again) opps,,, I'm live ...

good to know this still, its still to say "iOS remains more popular than than Android in other parts of the world." (despite the lower market share)