Nielsen: Apple's iPhone growing, Android flat as smartphone sales surge
Smartphone sales in the U.S. have become a majority of new mobile phone sales, and Apple's iPhone is leading that growth while Android has plateaued, according to the latest data from Nielsen.
A May survey of mobile customers in the U.S., conducted by Nielsen and released on Thursday, found that 55 percent of consumers who bought a new handset in the last three months bought a smartphone instead of a "feature phone." It's the first time smartphone sales have represented a majority in the U.S., and is also a major increase from 34 percent a year prior.
While Google's Android platform was found to remain the most popular smartphone choice, representing a 38 percent share among those who own a device, Nielsen found that it's actually Apple's iPhone that's seen the most growth in recent months.
Among recent phone buyers, 17 percent opted for an iPhone, compared with 10 percent when the last survey was conducted three months prior. Android remains the market leader, but sat idle at 27 percent from the previous poll to the most recent one.
Together, the iPhone and devices running Android control the lion's share of sales in smartphone market, representing 44 percent of all phone sales, including feature phones. Behind them is Research in Motion, which held a 6 percent share of sales in the May poll, down from 11 percent in the previous survey.
Among those who already own an iPhone, Android's market-leading 38 percent share is followed by Apple and the iPhone at 27 percent. RIM's BlackBerry line represents 21 percent of the market, while Windows Mobile is a distant fourth with 9 percent.
In a previous poll released in February, Nielsen found that nearly a third of users own a smartphone, with the install base evenly tied between Apple, RIM and Android. And earlier surveys from the research company Previous Nielsen surveys found that women prefer Apple's iPhone, while men tend to desire an Android handset, while iPhone users download the most applications of any smartphone owners by far.
A May survey of mobile customers in the U.S., conducted by Nielsen and released on Thursday, found that 55 percent of consumers who bought a new handset in the last three months bought a smartphone instead of a "feature phone." It's the first time smartphone sales have represented a majority in the U.S., and is also a major increase from 34 percent a year prior.
While Google's Android platform was found to remain the most popular smartphone choice, representing a 38 percent share among those who own a device, Nielsen found that it's actually Apple's iPhone that's seen the most growth in recent months.
Among recent phone buyers, 17 percent opted for an iPhone, compared with 10 percent when the last survey was conducted three months prior. Android remains the market leader, but sat idle at 27 percent from the previous poll to the most recent one.
Together, the iPhone and devices running Android control the lion's share of sales in smartphone market, representing 44 percent of all phone sales, including feature phones. Behind them is Research in Motion, which held a 6 percent share of sales in the May poll, down from 11 percent in the previous survey.
Among those who already own an iPhone, Android's market-leading 38 percent share is followed by Apple and the iPhone at 27 percent. RIM's BlackBerry line represents 21 percent of the market, while Windows Mobile is a distant fourth with 9 percent.
In a previous poll released in February, Nielsen found that nearly a third of users own a smartphone, with the install base evenly tied between Apple, RIM and Android. And earlier surveys from the research company Previous Nielsen surveys found that women prefer Apple's iPhone, while men tend to desire an Android handset, while iPhone users download the most applications of any smartphone owners by far.
Comments
Is this survey just BS?
Makes sense...it is stated that Women and Asians love Iphones and both are the biggest growth market for smart phones.
Your post is so corny at so many different levels that I don't know where to begin......
Anything in particular you're trying to say?
Getting accurate news is like trying to shoot a barn, with a pellet gun, while driving a lamborghini at full speed on the autobahn.
Makes sense...it is stated that Women and Asians love Iphones and both are the biggest growth market for smart phones.
And I happen to love Asian women, that's my biggest growth market.
So, if I understand correctly, android had 27% of new activations and apple had 17%. It would appear that almost 2x as many people chose android as apple. I would hardly characterize that as apple leading growth. When apple starts recording more activations than android that would be news.
I guess it is an example of leading by falling further behind!
So, if I understand correctly, android had 27% of new activations and apple had 17%. It would appear that almost 2x as many people chose android as apple. I would hardly characterize that as apple leading growth. When apple starts recording more activations than android that would be news.
You fail to understand the concept of growth rates. Android has remained steady at about 27% of activations, while Apple has GROWN in percentage. That 17% was only 10% last quarter. Next quarter if may be 25%, the quarter after that, who knows. Or, maybe it could go down. But the point is, Apple's share of new activations is GROWING, while Android's share (while larger) appears to have leveled off.
This is all to be expected, anyway. Look at the iPhone on carriers where they compete with Android (primarily internationally until the Verizon iPhone). iPhone wins in a landslide over Android. The ONLY reason for Android's phenomenal growth has been a lack of iPhone on Verizon. Lo and behold! Now that Android really has to compete against the big dog, their growth plateaus. Wait until all the Droids sold prior to Feb 2011 come up for renewal - then we'll really see a bloodbath in Android's numbers. They only bought the Droid in the first place because the iPhone was unavailable.
I guess it is an example of leading by falling further behind!
Did you just reply to yourself?
( and no - Apple is catching up).
It's not a good sign to see a free and open platform plateau at 27% for a full quarter.
It's clear that a "free and open" platform is all marketing BS. There's no discernible advantage to Android's "openness" compared to iOS. Those UI skins are confusing to customers expecting an "android" experience, and they generally prevent most phones from receiving the newest version of Android from Google. Plus the malware/bloatware/spyware problems on Android are quite a turnoff. My jaw still drops every time an android user tells me about their "task manager" and "killing apps." No thank you!
so true, can't wait for the next few quarters...
A few months ago it was the iPhone that had "plateaued". The next quarterly results may reverse things again. Ebb and flow, Ebb and flow. . .
Much less ebb and flow with Android because new handsets are always coming out. It's quite impressive to see how well the iPhone 4 has maintained its sales levels over the last year without a new model (although the white iPhone and Verizon phone certainly helped). I can only imagine what iPhone sales in the holiday quarter will look like with a new model building on the success of the 4 in the busiest shopping season of the year.
That said, people put too much stock in market share when comparing two completely different business models. The market share numbers needed for iOS and Android to be successful are completely different.
Among those who already own an iPhone, Android's market-leading 38 percent share is followed by Apple and the iPhone at 27 percent.
What does this mean? Is it saying that iPhone owners are choosing Android for 38% of their new purchases and only 27% are buying an iPhone for their next phone? I find this hard to believe.
You fail to understand the concept of growth rates. Android has remained steady at about 27% of activations, while Apple has GROWN in percentage. That 17% was only 10% last quarter. Next quarter if may be 25%, the quarter after that, who knows. Or, maybe it could go down. But the point is, Apple's share of new activations is GROWING, while Android's share (while larger) appears to have leveled off.
This is all to be expected, anyway. Look at the iPhone on carriers where they compete with Android (primarily internationally until the Verizon iPhone). iPhone wins in a landslide over Android. The ONLY reason for Android's phenomenal growth has been a lack of iPhone on Verizon. Lo and behold! Now that Android really has to compete against the big dog, their growth plateaus. Wait until all the Droids sold prior to Feb 2011 come up for renewal - then we'll really see a bloodbath in Android's numbers. They only bought the Droid in the first place because the iPhone was unavailable.
The really big thing is that Apple is able to curb Androids growth with a phone that cost $199+. Imagine what will happen when Apple gets a $99 or even free (with contract) phone on both major carriers in the US?
Just a couple days ago, Android was boasting 500K per day. Must have been just that one day?
Getting accurate news is like trying to shoot a barn, with a pellet gun, while driving a lamborghini at full speed on the autobahn.
Global trends != US trends. Globally Android is still growing, probably faster than ever. The news is in this instance is quite accurate, you're just reading it inaccurately.
What does this mean? Is it saying that iPhone owners are choosing Android for 38% of their new purchases and only 27% are buying an iPhone for their next phone? I find this hard to believe.
No - you're reading it wrong, it's saying two different things about the period
That 17% of sales of all handsets in the USA in the last quarter were iPhones compared to 27% which were Android.
That 38% of all handsets in use are smartphones, and of the smartphones 27% are iPhone.
To put it all into the same terms
27% of existing smartphones in the USA are iPhone, but 31% of recent smartphones sold were iPhones.
or
10.2% of existing handsets in the USA are iPhones, but 17% of recent handsets sold were iPhones.
A few months ago it was the iPhone that had "plateaued". The next quarterly results may reverse things again. Ebb and flow, Ebb and flow. . .
Don't count on it - gaining Verizon is a big deal, and we have yet to see what Apple's US sales figures look like when they launch a genuinely new product across both main carriers simultaneously.
Don't count on it - gaining Verizon is a big deal, and we have yet to see what Apple's US sales figures look like when they launch a genuinely new product across both main carriers simultaneously.
Ahh. . .
I was just about to respond to your claim with evidence otherwise, but see you changed your post. You must have realized your error.