Millennial: Apple's iPhone displays 55% of smartphone ads

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Millennial Media, the largest independent mobile adverting network, has released figures for July showing Apple leads mobile devices in general with its iOS platform and smartphones in particular with iPhone.



Millennial Media?s Mobile Mix report for July 2010 says Apple remains the leading device manufacturer on its ad network, with 35 percent share of all ad impressions.



Samsung is in second place with 17 percent, RIM in third with 10 percent, while Motorola and HTC round out the top five with 9 and 7 percent shares, respectively.



Excluding non-phone devices, Apple's iPhone ranks first among the top 20 mobile phones with 24 percent share, followed by RIM's BlackBerry Curve with 6.7 percent, Motorola's Droid with just under 5 percent, and two Samsung models filling out the top five.



Smartphones in the mobile device pie



Twelve of the top 20 mobile phones are smartphones; six are Android devices, four are BlackBerry. OF all the mobile devices Millennial handles, 32 percent are simple feature phones while 19 percent are "connected devices," which include video games such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, and web enabled devices like iPod touch. The other 49 percent are smartphones.



Looking only at smartphones (which are defined as running a recognizable operating system, excluding some higher end feature phones using a proprietary operating system such as the Samsung Instinct and LG Vu), Apple commands 55 percent of the pie, while Android smartphones delivered 19 percent, RIM had a 16 percent share, Windows Mobile took 4 percent, and every other platform added up to 6 percent.







Developers, developers, developers



Among developers targeting multiple platforms on its ad network, Millennial reports that 100 percent support Apple's iOS, while 75 percent target Android, 46 percent support RIM's BlackBerry OS, 29 percent write for Symbian, 21 percent use Java, and 17 percent support other platforms, including Java, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and BREW.



The top mobile category for mobile software continues to be games, which represented 47 percent of the app revenue from Millennial's network. Social networking apps remain in second place. Music apps jumped up from sixth in June to third place in July, while weather and news apps filled out the top five most popular categories of apps.



Most of Millennial's data reflects the US market, but globally, the company said July ad requests on Android have grown 47 percent over June, and 690 percent since January. Apple's iOS ad requests increased 24 percent in July, and 15 percent since January. iPad requests grew by 327 percent in the month of July. RIM's ad requests grew by 18 percent over June, and 66 percent since January.



Largest of the indies



Millennial Media became the largest independent mobile adverting network after Google acquired AdMob and Apple bought up second place Quattro Wireless last fall. Apple has since converted Quattro into iAd, which is also now exclusive to the iOS platform.



RIM has reportedly expressed interest in buying Millennial to joint Apple and Google in the ad arms race but balked at the price, leaving Millennial to report an intent to remain independent.



Apple's iOS SDK insists that developers not include code from competing ad networks that collect private data from users for any purpose other than to serve relevant ads, and technically bars advertisers linked to competing platforms from harvesting private data from iOS users at all, although it does not appear to be enforcing this rule.



As AdMob shifted from an independent to a subsidiary of Google, the company's analytics began to reflect a bias toward promoting Android as a platform. Apple never released any public analytical data through Quattro after acquiring it, and now that iAd is Apple's preferred ad network for iOS, data from other ad networks (whether affiliated with another platform vendor or independent) will increasingly lack access to the full scope of what is occurring in mobile ads due to Apple's legendary secrecy.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    finetunesfinetunes Posts: 2,065member
    Not surprising at all--is it?
  • Reply 2 of 42
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Apple don't actually think this kind of publicity is good do they? Newsflash: people don't like ads much and if they hear that a particular phone has the most ads that is not a positive for the product. Whatever happened to Apple's idea that you can't go wrong if you focus on the end user?
  • Reply 3 of 42
    nsbmnsbm Posts: 3member
    As a developer I find statements like this frustrating. Unless you are willing to pay for all your apps, how else do you expect developers to make a living? They have to monetize their apps either by selling them or by using display ads.
  • Reply 4 of 42
    jz1492jz1492 Posts: 41member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    Apple don't actually think this kind of publicity is good do they? Newsflash: people don't like ads much and if they hear that a particular phone has the most ads that is not a positive for the product. Whatever happened to Apple's idea that you can't go wrong if you focus on the end user?



    If ads can bring you better free apps, the end user wins, especially if they are allowed to pay for the option of ad-free versions.



    Moreover, if the ads can be an attraction, granted maybe not to all, then what's in iAds to dislike?



    If people are voluntarily clicking and re-clicking on those ads, isn't that a good thing?



    How far are we from having the Best iAds of the Year event? People in love with ads?



    Happens on TV.
  • Reply 5 of 42
    ruel24ruel24 Posts: 432member
    I'd rather it displayed 0% of smartphone ads...
  • Reply 6 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    Apple don't actually think this kind of publicity is good do they? Newsflash: people don't like ads much and if they hear that a particular phone has the most ads that is not a positive for the product. Whatever happened to Apple's idea that you can't go wrong if you focus on the end user?



    I never purport to speak for "people" or the "end user", regardless of what the perceived popular view of anything is. I always assess a thing on its merits, not on people's popular perception of it.



    Accordingly, when I see an unobtrusive advert header at the bottom or top of a desktop or mobile screen, my first inclination is not to get rid of it - I read it first, then decide what to do, whether to read further or dispose of it.



    This way I've actually found stuff I've been looking for and have had little luck with using search engines (Newsflash: advertisers use trending to serve you ads that might interest you, based on your prior preferences, location etc).



    I personally think that the "two legs bad, four legs good" knee-jerk attitude against advertising is infantile and self-defeating. It's a clever way to offset 3rd party development costs, and keep everyone happy.



    As (mobile) hardware becomes more and more of a commodity, its price will continue to plummet (we've seen this happen in the PC/Desktop market already), and ads will increasingly become the way to add value to units. In anticipation of this future scenario, Apple has accepted this reality and taken steps to invest in it on behalf of its shareholders, its developers AND its end-users. The acquisition of Quattro and its conversion to iAds is not a mere "hobbyist" venture.
  • Reply 7 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FineTunes View Post


    Not surprising at all--is it?



    Not sure why people look at this as good news. Guess what people don't like ads.
  • Reply 8 of 42
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 799member
    Add me to the list of people saying that being able to claim to be the most ad-laden platform is a definite bad thing from a consumers' standpoint. "We have the most ads" is not a positive by any marker. These are the kinds of things competitors can and should use in their campaigns.
  • Reply 9 of 42
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FineTunes View Post


    Not surprising at all--is it?



    Really? iAd has just started. I would be surprised if it's second, let alone first.
  • Reply 10 of 42
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post


    Not sure why people look at this as good news. Guess what people don't like ads.



    They must don't like Google immensely then.
  • Reply 11 of 42
    bsenkabsenka Posts: 799member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matrix07 View Post


    They must don't like Google immensely then.



    I can block Google's ads. Is there an ad blocker for in-app ads on the iPhone?
  • Reply 12 of 42
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bsenka View Post


    I can block Google's ads. Is there an ad blocker for in-app ads on the iPhone?



    Yes. You buy the paid version of the app. Problem solved.
  • Reply 13 of 42
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bsenka View Post


    Add me to the list of people saying that being able to claim to be the most ad-laden platform is a definite bad thing from a consumers' standpoint. "We have the most ads" is not a positive by any marker. These are the kinds of things competitors can and should use in their campaigns.



    The pitch would actually be "our ads don't intrude."



    Or, "....our ads don'd f### up your web experience."
  • Reply 14 of 42
    Only 55%? Most free apps that I use, use AdMob, or Adsense. Canada doesn't get iAds yet so I can't count that in.



    Lopsided infomation I guess .
  • Reply 15 of 42
    chopperchopper Posts: 246member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Yes. You buy the paid version of the app. Problem solved.



    And if there's only an ad-supported version of the app?



    Problem still solved? No?



    Knee-jerk much?
  • Reply 16 of 42
    hmmhmm Posts: 3,405member
    If apple can attract respectable advertisers, this isn't a bad thing. It will help ensure that developers are writing new apps and encourage printed publications to work with apple on the e-book versions of their magazines.
  • Reply 17 of 42
    Does anyone really care?
  • Reply 18 of 42
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chopper View Post


    And if there's only an ad-supported version of the app?



    Problem still solved? No?



    Yes. You don't use the app if the ads offend you. Problem STILL solved.



    Developers don't OWE you apps. They choose to provide apps on the basis of being reimbursed - either by you purchasing the app or by ad revenue. If neither of those is acceptable to you, then don't use the app. You're always free to write your own.



    Who ever told you that everything in life was free?
  • Reply 19 of 42
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    I suppose the folks who dislike ads on their phone so much don't ever listen to commercial radio, or television, or have a phone book in their house or drive bas billboard (and other outdoor advertising such as on the side of a bus). What would television look like and how many channels would thre be if EVERY program was pay-per-view?



    and what of the folks who work at the companies advertising those products?



    I would speculate that some of the very same folks you are lambasting advertisements and even complain about geeze how many times do I need to see an ad for a Ford truck are the same ones who complain that not enough people "buy american"



    As much as I dislike ads - especially the ones on TV that partly obscure the picture or sound of the program I am watching - more for the idea that I can be swayed by advertising - it is a fact of life in a free-market capitalistic society. If you don't like it - change the channel.



    Though it is interesting that the iPod function in iPods and other iOS devices - allows you to watch or listen to content for days on end without ads - but when you use other areas of the device you are subject to ads. Of course in the case of music, you have (allegedly) paid for the content and just like pay-per-view TV you would not expect commercials. But here again - if you want to pay for the content on your iOS devices then you do not have to see ads.



    Perhaps the way to publicize this message would be to list the number of apps downloaded for free thanks to iAds. Such as iAds has allowed users to download 10,000,000 free Apps for the iOS platform while generating $ (fill in a number here) in revenue for the developers.



    I am amazed at the variety and quality of content available for free - and the ads are really not very intrusive - if they took over the entire screen or required multiple steps to dismiss or were obnoxious in any way then I might feel differently. of course on the other hand - since the ad model doesn't necessarily distinguish between quality it also allows lots of pointless or stupid apps to also be just as available (of course what I consider pointless or stupid may be entirely different from what you consider stupid or pointless).



    The only problem I see from my perspective is that there are very likely some very useful and very high quality apps available that I might not try (or might not even be aware of) simply because they are $4.99 or $9.99 (without adds) and there is a plethora of alternatives for free or 99 cents.



    I have not kept very close track - but I have downloaded 167 apps - with about a dozen maybe paid versions -maybe a few more than that - with the majority at 99 cents - and though I cannot recall the most expensive - there were a couple at $4.99 and a few at $2.99. Although a few are companion apps to paid products on the computer - Delicious Library for example.
  • Reply 20 of 42
    29922992 Posts: 202member
    that's one more reason for me to staying with 3.1.3
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