The truth about Android vs iPhone marketshare

[Mac.World]

I found a good read that hits the nail on the head. This is the brass tacks. I hate it when androids attempt to lump every single smartphone using Android into a singular entity in an attempt to show how much better Android is over Apple. This article says it all.

The truth about Android vs. iPhone market share
By Jim Dalrymple

There is an endless stream of reports coming out these days about how Android stacks up against the iPhone. The problem is, most of them are flawed.

Here is the first giant flaw — you may have noticed in the headline of this story. You cannot compare Android to an iPhone. That’s comparing an operating system to a hardware device.
There is no compelling argument that anyone can give that says that comparing an operating system to a hardware device makes sense. None.

We don’t see reports of Windows 7 being compared to a Dell computer and then making assumptions about market share based on their sales. Why? Because, that would be stupid.

That would be like comparing one model of Mercedes against all cars that GM makes and saying the Mercedes is losing. It just doesn’t make any sense.

You can’t have it both ways. You either have to compare hardware devices or operating systems, you can’t mix and match.

There are currently six manufacturers — Dell, HTC, Kyocera, LG, Motorola, and Samsung — making 42 smartphones using the Android operating system.

So how does the iPhone stack up against one of these phones? Let’s take a look at the Motorola Droid.

Motorola says it shipped 13.7 million smartphones in 2010. The company didn’t specify Droids, but we’ll count them all anyway.

In comparison, Apple shipped 47.49 million in 2010, outpacing Motorola by more than three times.

Now, let’s take a look at the operating systems in the U.S. According to reports released this month by comScore, if you factor in all of the devices that use iOS including iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, Apple reached 37.9 million people. Android, according to the data, reached 23.8 million on phones and tablets.

That’s a 59 percent lead for iOS over Android.

In Europe, Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPads have a combined installed base of 28.9 million users. Android’s user base is at 13.4 million users. That number includes phones and connected media devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

That gives Apple a 12.4 percent share of the market and a 116 percent lead over its Android counterpart. Google has 5.7 percent share of the market.

That is the truth.

 

[iOS v Android]

It does depend on what you are measuring. If one was to measure iOS vs Android in terms of total users will get the above data. Generally we see different type of surveys based on different research questions. When my school did a survey to see do the use of smartphones have a relation with a students grades. We in the process found Android was the most popular smartphone os on campus closely followed by iOS

That survey also only takes into account licensed android products it does not factor in the various products built on androids systems such as ereaders, Dumb machines, TVs and many more. In all it would be really ****ing hard to find out how many total android devices are being used.

Notice how the person fails to mention Samsung or HTCs units sold because those two are the highest selling android producers.

 

[maclaptop]

Android is a software based operating system.
iOS is a software based operating system.
Windows 7 is an operating system.
OS X is an operating system.

The author of this article is one very confused man. One who lacks a decent education. He has no clue. Sadly he forgot to use a dictionary to learn what the word truth means.

You must think alike, he obviously impressed you.

Apparently he's got an axe to grind.

We already know an iPhone is the Superior Smartphone.

Articles like this only impress the insecure.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

sorry but nope the author is wrong. It is more comparing phones running respective OS.

in this case phones running iOS (aka 1 of 3 models of iPhones) or Android.

Also the fact that with the iPhone you have to settle on pretty much 1 model no choices between them. Android you get to choose your flavor. Same OS but has it own flavor which means less settling between them but in doing so that means your sells are reduced by sleeping them between them.

To me this is just fanboy who wrote that article feeling threaten by the fact that the iPhone OS is losing very quickly to Android powered phones.

 

[62tele]

sorry but nope the author is wrong. It is more comparing phones running respective OS.

in this case phones running iOS (aka 1 of 3 models of iPhones) or Android.

Also the fact that with the iPhone you have to settle on pretty much 1 model no choices between them. Android you get to choose your flavor. Same OS but has it own flavor which means less settling between them but in doing so that means your sells are reduced by sleeping them between them.

To me this is just fanboy who wrote that article feeling threaten by the fact that the iPhone OS is losing very quickly to Android powered phones.

It's all horse ****. There is no way to compare the data. If this were a scientific study would you account for variances between carrier performance, carrier offerings, hardware and software.

This crap only matters to a few. Apple is winning the main war. The money war. They are making more gross revenue, more profit etc. They are doing this world wide.

All the rest is really meaningless and the jousting of iPhone/iOS vs Android on hardware running the gamut of quality is so much jerk off!

 

[Thedeathbear]

So the guy decides to count all the devices running iOS to all the ones runing Droid? The flaw is that most of these studies are for smartphones. Mosts of droids are smartphones (there is tablet droid OS out there) vs iOS, with millions that are not smartphones.

 

[chris2k5]

So the guy decides to count all the devices running iOS to all the ones runing Droid? The flaw is that most of these studies are for smartphones. Mosts of droids are smartphones (there is tablet droid OS out there) vs iOS, with millions that are not smartphones.

@_@ Did you read the article? He clearly stacked iPhones vs Droids.

 

[iOS v Android]

@_@ Did you read the article? He clearly stacked iPhones vs Droids.

First Iphone is a phone, Droid is a line of smartphones running on Verizons network that employ the use of the android OS.

iOS vs android.

The author did iOS vs His guessed android smartphone sells. Second thing is that he left out android powered devices that do not have the Google logo on them such as the Nook.

 

[Thedeathbear]

@_@ Did you read the article? He clearly stacked iPhones vs Droids.

He just compares smartphone sales figure to motorola, but that is all. After that he say: if you factor in all of the devices that use iOS including iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, Apple reached 37.9 million people. Android, according to the data, reached 23.8 million on phones and tablets.

He clearly wants to stack OS vs OS, but Droid is basially all smartphones. A little unfair, but telecoms care about that smartphone. You need to keep paying for that iPhone or it will just be an iPod touch.

 

[Mac.World]

He just compares smartphone sales figure to motorola, but that is all. After that he say: if you factor in all of the devices that use iOS including iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, Apple reached 37.9 million people. Android, according to the data, reached 23.8 million on phones and tablets.

He clearly wants to stack OS vs OS, but Droid is basially all smartphones. A little unfair, but telecoms care about that smartphone. You need to keep paying for that iPhone or it will just be an iPod touch.

You need to keep paying for that Android based phone or it will just be an iPod Touch equivalent.

 

[chris975d]

sorry but nope the author is wrong. It is more comparing phones running respective OS.

in this case phones running iOS (aka 1 of 3 models of iPhones) or Android.

Also the fact that with the iPhone you have to settle on pretty much 1 model no choices between them. Android you get to choose your flavor. Same OS but has it own flavor which means less settling between them but in doing so that means your sells are reduced by sleeping them between them.

To me this is just fanboy who wrote that article feeling threaten by the fact that the iPhone OS is losing very quickly to Android powered phones.

Rodimus is right here. If you're comparing SMARTPHONE OS's, the you have to count all makes/models running that OS. With iOS, Apple has, on their own, limited that to only devices they produce. So naturally, you can only count iPhones (again, if you're trying to obtain SMARTPHONE OS data). With Android, you have to count all Android phones by all manufacturers. People really aren't looking for Apple vs. "manufacturer x" comparison numbers when gathering data like this, they are looking for number of iOS (phone) users compared to number of Android OS (phone) users. Therefore counting ALL Android OS phones is perfectly valid.

 

[sinsin07]

Here's another:

Four Android myths lazy analysts love

I have no opinion one way or the other, just another story.

 

[Tarzanman]

People who are emotionally invested in the Apple brand care.

More bad news for them, though:

http://www.comscore.com/Press_Event...July_2011_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share

According to the numbers: iOS #2 platform
Apple #4 manufacturer

 

[macinnv]

Well over 1/3 of US can't even own an iPhone on their network without paying upwards of $300 to get out, myself included. 5 may change that. But android growing 14% in 3 months is impressive.

 

[nefan65]

I don't get it...

Why are people so fixated on these things? Buy a phone/plan that meet your needs, and be happy.

 

[DeathChill]

People who are emotionally invested in the Apple brand care.

More bad news for them, though:

http://www.comscore.com/Press_Event...July_2011_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share

According to the numbers: iOS #2 platform
Apple #4 manufacturer

Apparently you can't read: iPhone is the number 2 SMARTPHONE platform, this provides no information about iOS, which has a large lead on Android. So Android is actually the number 2 platform.

Apple is also the number 4 manufacturer when you compare with manufacturers who make dumb phones. Woopdy do. Apple only makes two relatively expensive smartphones, not hundreds of $50 dumb phones.

 

[cinek]

I'd say however you look at it, iOS wins, as there are tons of phones with androids and ios only has ipads, iphones & iPod touches (which no1 really uses these days)

 

[psac]

Last night we were watching TV, and a T-Mobile commercial comes on, and my wife asks "are any of those phones better than the iPhone?"

My reply: Nothing is better than the iPhone.

Personal opinion, of course, but that's all that matters.

Once the iPhone is available for all US carriers, and the legacy contracts run out, I expect the iPhone to fully dominate. Muahahahaha!

 

[Tarzanman]

Apparently you can't read: iPhone is the number 2 SMARTPHONE platform, this provides no information about iOS, which has a large lead on Android. So Android is actually the number 2 platform.

Apple is also the number 4 manufacturer when you compare with manufacturers who make dumb phones. Woopdy do. Apple only makes two relatively expensive smartphones, not hundreds of $50 dumb phones.

Calm down there, killer. The page I linked to explicitly mentions that their survey data references the smartphone market and since the iPhone is the only phone that runs iOS... saying that iOS is the #2 platform is correct.

If you want to start counting iPods, Ipads, and everything else Apple makes (why? just so that Apple comes out ahead?) then you'll have to find a different report to comfort yourself with (lol).

 

[Pez555]

People who are emotionally invested in the Apple brand care.

More bad news for them, though:

http://www.comscore.com/Press_Event...July_2011_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share

According to the numbers: iOS #2 platform
Apple #4 manufacturer

there is a difference between iOS and solely iOS on the iPhone.

 

[Faux Carnival]

Then you'll admit that Windows crushes Mac OS in every way for 20 years straight?

 

[newagemac]

Calm down there, killer. The page I linked to explicitly mentions that their survey data references the smartphone market and since the iPhone is the only phone that runs iOS... saying that iOS is the #2 platform is correct.

If you want to start counting iPods, Ipads, and everything else Apple makes (why? just so that Apple comes out ahead?) then you'll have to find a different report to comfort yourself with (lol).

If you're trying to compare Android to iOS, then yes you must certainly count all the devices using iOS. Why else wouldn't you? The only reason you would cut out a major portion of iOS is because you want to find some kind of way to make Android seem ahead.

I see so many Android fanboys who can't for the life of them figure out why so many apps come out on iOS before Android, if it ever does come to Android. They keep saying "Android has more market share so a developer should want to get to their biggest market first." But those fanboys keep making the same mistake you are. They want to only count smartphones.

However, developers know that when their app is on the App Store it is not just available to the iPhone. It is available to the iPod Touch and the iPad as well. Developers are trying to make money and they don't have time for the silly fanboy stuff. They know they have a far larger market with iOS than Android. And they know when they compare iOS to Android (to make their decisions) it doesn't make sense to cut out a huge portion of the iOS market. Only fanboys do that.

There are other reasons developers prefer iOS as well like the relative cheapness of Android users compared to iOS users that developers have discovered but as far as the market share thing it really shows how ignorant Android fanboys are.

iOS simply has far more marketshare than Android and with the success of the iOS powered iPad compared to the Android powered tablets that probably won't change anytime soon. Android only has more marketshare than iOS if you try to cut out half of the iOS market.

 

[chris975d]

If you're trying to compare Android to iOS, then yes you must certainly count all the devices using iOS. Why else wouldn't you? The only reason you would cut out a major portion of iOS is because you want to find some kind of way to make Android seem ahead.

I see so many Android fanboys who can't for the life of them figure out why so many apps come out on iOS before Android, if it ever does come to Android. They keep saying "Android has more market share so a developer should want to get to their biggest market first." But those fanboys keep making the same mistake you are. They want to only count smartphones.

However, developers know that when their app is on the App Store it is not just available to the iPhone. It is available to the iPod Touch and the iPad as well. Developers are trying to make money and they don't have time for the silly fanboy stuff. They know they have a far larger market with iOS than Android. And they know when they compare iOS to Android (to make their decisions) it doesn't make sense to cut out a huge portion of the iOS market. Only fanboys do that.

There are other reasons developers prefer iOS as well like the relative cheapness of Android users compared to iOS users that developers have discovered but as far as the market share thing it really shows how ignorant Android fanboys are.

iOS simply has far more marketshare than Android and with the success of the iOS powered iPad compared to the Android powered tablets that probably won't change anytime soon. Android only has more marketshare than iOS if you try to cut out half of the iOS market.

Isn't the report sited specifically looking at mobile smartphone marketshare though?

 

[Geckotek]

No kidding! What is the big deal with who has the biggest share or which phone is supposedly the best. All that should matter to consumers is if they like their phone not which company is dominating sales? Do you enjoy your phone more if it's the best seller? Jeeze, this cr#p should only be of concern to the companies themselves not the end users.

People who are emotionally invested in the Apple brand care.

More bad news for them, though:

http://www.comscore.com/Press_Event...July_2011_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share

According to the numbers: iOS #2 platform
Apple #4 manufacturer

Actually, I do care when my phone is from the #1 seller of any single model. Why? A plethora of accessories. No other device I know of has a dedicated connection in many cars (yes, some offer headphone jacks or BT, but how many have actual 30-pin connectors that offer control through the steering wheel?) When I walk into a store, I see a few options for some Galaxy S accessories, some for Droids, and a crapload for iPhones.

Don't fool yourselves guys. Marketshare matters to the consumer as well.

 

[mikelegacy]

Actually, I do care when my phone is from the #1 seller of any single model. Why? A plethora of accessories. No other device I know of has a dedicated connection in many cars (yes, some offer headphone jacks or BT, but how many have actual 30-pin connectors that offer control through the steering wheel?) When I walk into a store, I see a few options for some Galaxy S accessories, some for Droids, and a crapload for iPhones.

Don't fool yourselves guys. Marketshare matters to the consumer as well.

Exactly.

And i'm sick of people comparing OS's. Android OS is on 42 phones. iOS is on ONE phone. It's not losing by much, what's that tell you?

Anyone who thinks that, if you compare it to ANY SINGLE Android device, the iPhone is not the #1 most sold phone in the world is ABSOLUTELY OFF THEIR ROCKER. The iPhone destroys any singular other devices by MILLIONS.

Even the beloved Samsung Galaxy S2 can't compete.