iPhone drops to 23.8% smartphone market share, Android jumps to 17%
New data shows Apple, RIM, and Microsoft continue to lose ground to Google in the U.S. smartphone market.
Marketing intelligence company comScore published its quarterly Mobile Subscriber Market Share findings, which tracked total smartphone subscribers for the three months ending in July. According to the report, 53.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the quarter, up 11 percent from the previous quarter.
Of the top 5 platforms, only Google Android grew in market share, from 12 percent to 17 percent of the U.S. smartphone market. Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Apple all lost share, while Palm hovered at 4.9 percent.
The study also found that two out of three subscribers send text messages and one out of three subscribers use a browser on their mobile devices. 31.4 percent of users download applications for their devices, and 21.8 percent access social networks and blogs.
In June, Android passed iOS to become the third-most-popular mobile phone OS in the world, according to Gartner.
"A non-exclusive strategy that produces products selling across many communication service providers, and the backing of so many device manufacturers, which are bringing more attractive devices to market at several different price points, were among the factors that yielded its growth this quarter," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.
In a September research note, the research firm projected Apple will sell 130 million iOS-based mobile devices per year by 2014. In comparison, Gartner projected Android will sell 259 million devices in 2014.
Marketing intelligence company comScore published its quarterly Mobile Subscriber Market Share findings, which tracked total smartphone subscribers for the three months ending in July. According to the report, 53.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the quarter, up 11 percent from the previous quarter.
Of the top 5 platforms, only Google Android grew in market share, from 12 percent to 17 percent of the U.S. smartphone market. Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Apple all lost share, while Palm hovered at 4.9 percent.
The study also found that two out of three subscribers send text messages and one out of three subscribers use a browser on their mobile devices. 31.4 percent of users download applications for their devices, and 21.8 percent access social networks and blogs.
In June, Android passed iOS to become the third-most-popular mobile phone OS in the world, according to Gartner.
"A non-exclusive strategy that produces products selling across many communication service providers, and the backing of so many device manufacturers, which are bringing more attractive devices to market at several different price points, were among the factors that yielded its growth this quarter," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.
In a September research note, the research firm projected Apple will sell 130 million iOS-based mobile devices per year by 2014. In comparison, Gartner projected Android will sell 259 million devices in 2014.
Comments
Android is rising because Apple is letting Android rise. Those numbers/or percentage will soon change once Apple goes multi-carriers (USA) in the future.
When??? Not really asking you, but I think that is what consumers are wondering. People can't just sit around and wait for Apple to become available. People have a need/desire for a phone similar to iPhone. Every month that ticks by, it's another million people that are buying into the Android Market. A huge chunk of those people will probably not switch unless they are "free app only" kinds of folks.
Really, as an iPhone user, that's my main reason for not trying an Android phone. I've already committed to the App Store. That and... every Android phone I use feels cheap and the UI is terrible. Too many layers.
Android is rising because Apple is letting Android rise. Those numbers/or percentage will soon change once Apple goes multi-carriers (USA) in the future.
yeah, I was gonna put a positive spin on it too
It push forward the efforts toward excellence.
And then if people want to have second quality product, let them have.
There are already too much iPhone owner that cannot use it and cannot take advantage of it.
Titan10
When??? Not really asking you, but I think that is what consumers are wondering. People can't just sit around and wait for Apple to become available. People have a need/desire for a phone similar to iPhone. Every month that ticks by, it's another million people that are buying into the Android Market. A huge chunk of those people will probably not switch unless they are "free app only" kinds of folks.
Really, as an iPhone user, that's my main reason for not trying an Android phone. I've already committed to the App Store. That and... every Android phone I use feels cheap and the UI is terrible. Too many layers.
Speaking of layers - attempting to change the settings on the very latest NOKIA will snap off your 'pointing' finger - apparently
When??? Not really asking you, but I think that is what consumers are wondering. People can't just sit around and wait for Apple to become available. People have a need/desire for a phone similar to iPhone. Every month that ticks by, it's another million people that are buying into the Android Market. A huge chunk of those people will probably not switch unless they are "free app only" kinds of folks.
Really, as an iPhone user, that's my main reason for not trying an Android phone. I've already committed to the App Store. That and... every Android phone I use feels cheap and the UI is terrible. Too many layers.
People can wait, but not all people can. If we do see Apple go multi-carrier it will probably be 2011-2012 depending on the contract with AT&T. If it's 2012, then people contracts will be expiring by then (for those who signed this year) and we will see a mass of people jumping to purchase the iphone on their network.
with the amount of android devices compared to iphone/iOS devices, Android should be ahead. It's kinda sad that they aren't. Google doesn't even make it's own hardware, it's kinda a lame comparison
Well with 40+ Android devices, those numbers are increasing rapidly.
"A non-exclusive strategy that produces products selling across many communication service providers, and the backing of so many device manufacturers, which are bringing more attractive devices to market at several different price points, were among the factors that yielded its growth this quarter," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.
I agree. Apple's strategy is based on monopoly and early lead, the same strategy used 25 years ago for the Mac. Windows 95 crushed Apple once and Android is poised to do the same in the smartphone market. Alas.
At best, Apple's strategy can only lead to an early success followed by a downfall to a 5% world market share. Some people never learn. Greed and supersized egos. Alas.
An Iphone Nano/Mini with a lover price point could do it.
The SonyEricsson mini experia 10 is an exempel that people wants smaller smart phones.
I agree. Apple's strategy is based on monopoly and early lead, the same strategy used 25 years ago for the Mac. Windows 95 crushed Apple once and Android is poised to do the same in the smartphone market. Alas.
At best, Apple's strategy can only lead to an early success followed by a downfall to a 5% world market share. Some people never learn. Greed and supersized egos. Alas.
I agree with you and disagree with you. Apples only has the monopoly strategy on the USA. Apple does not have a monopoly strategy on other parts of the world. well only with the iphone that is.
Apple needs to diversify its iphone segments.
An Iphone Nano/Mini with a lover price point could do it.
The SonyEricsson mini experia 10 is an exempel that people wants smaller smart phones.
I'm sure some people want a smaller phone, but most of the Android handsets I've seen are as big or even bigger than the iPhone. That tells me there's a big market for large screen phones.
Many people over 40 simply don't have the eyesight to get much value from a browser packed into 3.5". I personally can't focus on anything closer than 18" and the small text on phones usually requires it be held no more than 12" away. It's not just the web either, many apps insist on using small font sizes. For example the ESPN World Cup app used tiny text for team summaries, player bios, stats and comments. In the end I mostly used it to follow the results. At least those were presented in larger text.
How fair it is!
Good luck, Apple.
Also, some of android gets the mid range market. iPhone does not. [/IMG]
In the US you can buy the 3GS for $99. that is about as mid range as you get, so I would assume Apple gets plenty of the mid-range market.
the issue is not so much all of the different Android devices, so much as the iPhone market is saturated. Several recent articles have pointed out that these days, in the US at least, most iPhone sales are to people upgrading their phones, and not so much new customers. Hence part of the loss of market share.
I agree. Apple's strategy is based on monopoly and early lead, the same strategy used 25 years ago for the Mac. Windows 95 crushed Apple once and Android is poised to do the same in the smartphone market. Alas.
At best, Apple's strategy can only lead to an early success followed by a downfall to a 5% world market share. Some people never learn. Greed and supersized egos. Alas.
Profit, not market share is Apple's ultimate goal. They do quite well with that 5% market share too. They've stated before that they are in the business of making the best devices, not the most devices, it seems a lot of people tend to forget that. Even if Apple dropped to 5% market share in the smartphone business, they'd only be failing by your standards.
If Apple wanted market share, they'd have multiple phone models at different price points, 2 for 1 deals, and they never would have signed that exclusivity contract with AT&T (they did that to pioneer things like visual voicemail, and keep control of the phone in their hands and not the carriers). However, if they did all that, the quality of their product would drop and so would their margins, and likely their profits. Market share is great, but that's not what they're ultimately after (just ask Nokia how well market share translates to dollars). They want to sell quality hardware with solid profit margins, and that's what they are doing.
That said, the phone market is not the computer market, I wouldn't expect things to play out in the same manner.
The whole episode proves that competition does not promote advancement, the whole mobile industry were delivering the same same phones year in year out.
Apple who were not mobile phone manufacturers saw that there was a better way and gave it to us.
Now all we can do is snipe etc at Apple.
It is obvious that Android will do better as they offer a free OS to those same dull mobile manufacturers who were content to just take our money without making any attempt to give us what we want or need.
So they can plaster that OS on cheap models as they did not spend much on R&D.
Do not praise them they have only their best interests at heart.
For all Apples failings they year in year out develop products that will make us work and live better. unlike the others in the IT industry who just want your money.
Research is not cheap so Apple products are not but when you buy a cheap PC thats what you get ok for word processing perhaps not much else.
Snipe if it makes you feel better but a lot of what you use today is courtesy of the infinite loop R&D