Women want Apple's iPhone, men prefer Google Android, Nielsen finds
The iPhone and devices running Google Android are the most desired smartphones in the U.S., but men tend to prefer Android while women gravitate toward Apple's iOS, a new survey has found.
Nielsen on Wednesday released the results of its October survey of mobile phone users. It found that the iPhone was "most desired" among likely smartphone upgraders in the U.S., ahead of Android.
But Android found its greatest share when the results were viewed by gender: 32.6 percent of male respondents said they wanted an Android smartphone, while 28.6 percent of men opted for the iPhone.
Women, on the other hand, strongly prefer the iPhone, with 30.9 percent opting for Apple's handset, while 22.8 percent of women said they want a device running Google Android. For both men and women, BlackBerry came in third while Microsoft's Windows Mobile took fourth.
In terms of age, the iPhone led in all demographics except ages 35 to 54. In that range, 27.4 percent of "likely smartphone upgraders" said they would choose Android, more than the 26.3 percent who said the iPhone.
Among users planning to get a new smartphone, current smartphone owners preferred the iPhone with 35 percent choosing Apple, versus 28 percent for Android. Consumers who own "feature phones" were less decisive, with 25 percent unsure what they would buy.
Nielsen also found that the iPhone has edged Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform in terms of market share. The survey shows Apple with 27.9 percent of the market, while BlackBerry holds 27.4 percent. That contrasts with a report also released on Wednesday, which found that the BlackBerry had overtaken the iPhone in terms of mobile browser usage in the U.S.
In October, Nielsen revealed that sales of all devices running Google Android had exceeded the iPhone for the first time. However, Wednesday's new survey shows total market share among users, rather than current sales.
Nielsen on Wednesday released the results of its October survey of mobile phone users. It found that the iPhone was "most desired" among likely smartphone upgraders in the U.S., ahead of Android.
But Android found its greatest share when the results were viewed by gender: 32.6 percent of male respondents said they wanted an Android smartphone, while 28.6 percent of men opted for the iPhone.
Women, on the other hand, strongly prefer the iPhone, with 30.9 percent opting for Apple's handset, while 22.8 percent of women said they want a device running Google Android. For both men and women, BlackBerry came in third while Microsoft's Windows Mobile took fourth.
In terms of age, the iPhone led in all demographics except ages 35 to 54. In that range, 27.4 percent of "likely smartphone upgraders" said they would choose Android, more than the 26.3 percent who said the iPhone.
Among users planning to get a new smartphone, current smartphone owners preferred the iPhone with 35 percent choosing Apple, versus 28 percent for Android. Consumers who own "feature phones" were less decisive, with 25 percent unsure what they would buy.
Nielsen also found that the iPhone has edged Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform in terms of market share. The survey shows Apple with 27.9 percent of the market, while BlackBerry holds 27.4 percent. That contrasts with a report also released on Wednesday, which found that the BlackBerry had overtaken the iPhone in terms of mobile browser usage in the U.S.
In October, Nielsen revealed that sales of all devices running Google Android had exceeded the iPhone for the first time. However, Wednesday's new survey shows total market share among users, rather than current sales.
Comments
Here in Oz, the iPhone is heads and shoulders above any Android based almost smart-phone...
Cheers.
You don't think it has something to do with the Terminator-esk advertising Droid has saturated our living rooms with, do you?
Plus the fact that guys like to tinker around with things and make them work the way they want them to. But some of us are busy and like the fact that it just damn well works out of the box. Who has time to read a manual?
The iPhone and devices running Google Android are the most desired smartphones in the U.S., but men tend to prefer Android while women gravitate toward Apple's iOS, a new survey has found.
Nielsen on Wednesday released the results of its October survey of mobile phone users. It found that the iPhone was "most desired" among likely smartphone upgraders in the U.S., ahead of Android.
But Android found its greatest share when the results were viewed by gender: 32.6 percent of male respondents said they wanted an Android smartphone, while 28.6 percent of men opted for the iPhone.
Women, on the other hand, strongly prefer the iPhone, with 30.9 percent opting for Apple's handset, while 22.8 percent of women said they want a device running Google Android. For both men and women, BlackBerry came in third while Microsoft's Windows Mobile took fourth.
In terms of age, the iPhone led in all demographics except ages 35 to 54. In that range, 27.4 percent of "likely smartphone upgraders" said they would choose Android, more than the 26.3 percent who said the iPhone.
Among users planning to get a new smartphone, current smartphone owners preferred the iPhone with 35 percent choosing Apple, versus 28 percent for Android. Consumers who own "feature phones" were less decisive, with 25 percent unsure what they would buy.
Nielsen also found that the iPhone has edged Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform in terms of market share. The survey shows Apple with 27.9 percent of the market, while BlackBerry holds 27.4 percent. That contrasts with a report also released on Wednesday, which found that the BlackBerry had overtaken the iPhone in terms of mobile browser usage in the U.S.
In October, Nielsen revealed that sales of all devices running Google Android had exceeded the iPhone for the first time. However, Wednesday's new survey shows total market share among users, rather than current sales.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
ONe survey i can call BS on. IN my country iPhone is a hit and men and women want to have it.
Isn't this the same Nielsen that rates TV shows
ONe survey i can call BS on. IN my country iPhone is a hit and men and women want to have it.
Wait... You're calling BS on a survey done for the US only...because you live a country other than the US?
Plus the fact that guys like to tinker around with things and make them work the way they want them to. But some of us are busy and like the fact that it just damn well works out of the box. Who has time to read a manual?
Of all my programmer/engineer/scientist friends who use Android, none of them seem to do anything with the phone that they can't do with the iPhone (I've asked). I know the general impression out there is that it's so "open" but when it comes down to using it, people generally don't want to spend hours messing with their mobile devices. They just want something that works.
My impression is that Android is like Windows or Office: you get 14 million features, but only use 20 of them regularly. Having 9 different ways to do the same thing is not a recipe for robustness, it's a recipe for confusion, insufficient QA and unreliability. Those devices just seem overly buggy to me.
I have a friend who was hard against Apple products, and has owned two Android devices after being a die-hard Blackberry user. We were in the car recently and his phone was in the trunk, so he used mine for quite a while. I didn't ask what he thought, but he emailed me two days ago and said that he bought an iPhone. ;-)
Of what use are these surverys other than to be used by spindoctors from either side. I mean do Apple or Google actually pay attention to this crap? Do they adjust their business models or plans based on this crap? Or do they just use them for advertising gimmicks?
Nah, Apple doesn't even use focus groups. There are only two people whose opinions matter for Apple: Steve and Jonny.
I have done a survey here in my home and find that 100% of the men and women prefer an iPhone over any other mobile phone. BUt Alas, my name is not Nielsen.
Here in Oz, the iPhone is heads and shoulders above any Android based almost smart-phone...
Cheers.
Surveys are important for all sorts of people to justify all sorts of things. We all know that most stats can be interpreted in a any number of ways. It is also important to bear in mind that some companies make (much of) their money from carrying out surveys.
Nielesen surveys and Nielsen ratings are useful for many types of analysis but none more so tan for Nielsen's bottom line.
You don't think it has something to do with the Terminator-esk advertising Droid has saturated our living rooms with, do you?
Totally. The ads for Android make Android about as unappealing to women as the types of men who are attracted to the ads.
I would say that iPhone advertising is pretty gender-neutral.
And in the interests of disclosure, I'm a man and I have an iPhone (so I guess that makes me "sensitive")
Having owned a Samsung "feature" phone and now my hand-me-down iPhone 3G, I find the iPhone extremely easy to use.
It is the perfect phone (aside from costs (purchase + monthly) for "seniors".
I find the iPhone's sleek lines goes well with my outfit and makes my <> look slimmer.
The iPhone and devices running Google Android are the most desired smartphones in the U.S., but men tend to prefer Android while women gravitate toward Apple's iOS, a new survey has found. ...
Ridiculous study, unsupported conclusions, and poor reporting from Apple Insider to put such a title on it. Everyone involved should feel deeply ashamed.
The data says that roughly 31% of women will go for an iPhone next time and 29% of men would as well.
To spin this as "women prefer iPhone" is to completely distort the data. The difference is smaller than the probable margin of error.
The only significant data here is:
- men prefer Android
- women are more undecided about their next smartphone than men are.
Everything else is a wash, statistically.
The fact that Android, which is almost exclusively marketed to men, is now preferred by men ( a bit) over other OS's is also completely unremarkable.
We aren't learning anything new by this study at all. It's just another proof that advertising works. Tell men over and over that Android is "manly" and eventually they will buy it more often. So what? People are surprised by this?
Of the 50 people I know that have iPhones 48 are men and 2 are women.
Almost everyone else who has an Android phone would rather have an iPhone but are locked into a different provider for one reason or another.