Android cedes ground to iOS in U.S. smartphone market during April

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
The latest study from comScore reveals that the U.S. marketshare of Google's Android mobile operating system dipped slightly over April while Apple's iOS-driven iPhone continued its slow upward climb.

Data from research firm's MobiLens service showed Apple maintaining a steady forward pace over the month of April amid a growing U.S. smartphone market, while Android exhibited a small drop in share during the same period.

The survey polled 30,000 mobile subscribers and found that during the three months ending in April, Android remained the top U.S. platform and managed to gain 2.2 points to end the period with a 50.8 percent market share. While Google's OS saw an overall gain over the period, the platform saw a month-to-month decline as it stood with a 51 percent share at the end of March after rising 3.7 percent, a relatively steep bump considering the saturated marketplace.

Number two Apple finished the three-month period up 1.9 percent with a 31.4 percent share of the U.S. market. The iPhone rose a modest 0.7 points in April and was one of the two top-five mobile platforms to gain marketshare. Nokia's Windows Phone helped the fledgling platform eke out 0.1 points of progress while RIM and Symbian continued to tumble losing 0.7 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

comScore
Source: comScore


Over 107 million people owned smartphones at the end of April representing a 6 point rise since January. Also up over the three months ending in April was downloaded app usage which enjoyed a 1.6 percent rise while mobile browser use saw a 0.5 point bump. Texting suffered a 0.5 percent drop, but an overwhelming 74.1 percent of smartphone owners still use the service.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 88
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member


    Sounds good to me as an Apple shareholder. Now that the iPhone is about 8 months old, I would expect to see its share decline a bit until the new model in the fall. I won't worry too much, though. With the Cricket deal, and growth in China, it should hold its own until the new model is out.

  • Reply 2 of 88


    What am I missing here?  Android market share increased 2.2% while iPhone increased less at 1.9%?  I do not see a drop in market share by Android at all?  At least not in the table...  I just went to the MobiLens website and they confirm the chart but really Android is slowly pulling away from iPhone and has not lost ground.  Am I crazy here?  Or is the blog post fouled up?!?

  • Reply 3 of 88
    ash471ash471 Posts: 705member


    The chart, which shows three month data says Google gained ground.  Seems kind of silly to have a title and discussion of Google "ceding ground" to Apple when the chart prominently displays the opposite. ?????

  • Reply 4 of 88
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Brian Ward View Post


    What am I missing here?  Android market share increased 2.2% while iPhone increased less at 1.9%?  I do not see a drop in market share by Android at all?  At least not in the table...  I just went to the MobiLens website and they confirm the chart but really Android is slowly pulling away from iPhone and has not lost ground.  Am I crazy here?  Or is the blog post fouled up?!?



     


    Read the story and ignore the chart.

  • Reply 5 of 88
    ash471ash471 Posts: 705member


    The chart is three month data and the title is in reference to one month data.  I agree, preposterous. 

  • Reply 6 of 88
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ash471 View Post


    The chart, which shows three month data says Google gained ground.  Seems kind of silly to have a title and discussion of Google "ceding ground" to Apple when the chart prominently displays the opposite. ?????



     


    Read the actual story. Ignore the chart until it's put into proper context.

  • Reply 7 of 88
    Exceptionally biased title. Android is clearly growing here. I love Apple as much as the next guy. But seriously...? Lets bring the measure of journalism up on this site a notch if we could guys. The headline is a lie. Thats not cool.
  • Reply 8 of 88
    geoadmgeoadm Posts: 81member


    really should remove that picture or the fandroids will come in droves 

  • Reply 9 of 88
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I'd like to thank AI for comparing Android to iOS and not the iPhone HW.

    Exceptionally biased title. Android is clearly growing here. I love Apple as much as the next guy. But seriously...? Lets bring the measure of journalism up on this site a notch if we could guys. The headline is a lie. Thats not cool.

    "While Google's OS saw an overall gain over the period, the platform saw a month-to-month decline as it stood with a 51 percent share at the end of March after rising 3.7 percent, a relatively steep bump [down to 2.2%] considering the saturated marketplace."
  • Reply 10 of 88

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


     


    Read the actual story. Ignore the chart until it's put into proper context.



    Not to start an argument here.  But the data shows that Androids "growth" may be slowing.  Apple is not gaining ground.  And slowed growth is still in fact growth.  


     


    I know the numbers are important to keep in mind, but Apple has been a little slow on the uptake with the increase in screen size seen around the industry.  Its one of the downsides of a one year refresh and 2 year rebuild cycle.  The guys in Cupertino are great, but the mobile arena is moving faster than anyone expected.  Form factors that last 2 years in this day and age are being leap-frogged.  All we can really do is hope for a strong holiday season.  Apple really needs a campaign that shows that advantages of iOS over Android.  The "I'm a Mac" commercials were great.  I don't know what the heck Samuel L. Jackson and Zoey Deschanel are doing in their ads.  More needs to be included regarding the unity that the Apple ecosystem has, compared to the fragmented cluster-ef of a corner Google has painted itself into.  A new Droid Razr Maxx from VZW that comes with Gingerbread 2.3.6 pre-installed without the option to upgrade at this point in time?  That beyond ridiculous.  Hit them where it hurts and on National TV.  Let the numbers speak for themselves.  These numbers don't speak well.

  • Reply 11 of 88
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member


    3 models (at most.) All under the same roof. And Apple achieves all THAT. 

  • Reply 12 of 88

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I'd like to thank AI for comparing Android to iOS and not the iPhone HW.

    "While Google's OS saw an overall gain over the period, the platform saw a month-to-month decline as it stood with a 51 percent share at the end of March after rising 3.7 percent, a relatively steep bump [down to 2.2%] considering the saturated marketplace."


    "(Android) saw an overall gain over the period."  Fail.




    With the Galaxy S III now coming to market I don't see this as very good news at all.  And AI wants to try and pick at it because it has "the same camera" as the 4S?  Who the hell cares?!  You're trying to prove that Android hasn't surpassed Apple?  That argument inherently puts iOS on lower ground than Android.  I just wanna see some miracles come Sept.- Oct.  Things aren't looking too hot right now.  And yes, I do think Android is an inferior platform but I don't think iOS is reaching its fullest potential at this point in time either.

  • Reply 13 of 88
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member


    Sorry but 30k data points out of over 100 million users sounds about as statistically sound as the Nielsen ratings and at least Nielsen pulls their sample randomly out of the whole US population. We have zero info about this group and their sampling protocol. 

  • Reply 14 of 88
    agramonteagramonte Posts: 345member


    this nonsens of an interpretation of that data - at the very least - shows a great deal of persistence and creativity, I'll give Ai that.

  • Reply 15 of 88
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    "(Android) saw an overall gain over the period."  Fail.


    With the Galaxy S III now coming to market I don't see this as very good news at all.  And AI wants to try and pick at it because it has "the same camera" as the 4S?  Who the hell cares?!  You're trying to prove that Android hasn't surpassed Apple?  That argument inherently puts iOS on lower ground than Android.  I just wanna see some miracles come Sept.- Oct.  Things aren't looking too hot right now.  And yes, I do think Android is an inferior platform but I don't think iOS is reaching its fullest potential at this point in time either.

    1) Did you only read the first part of the sentence or choose not to acknowledge the rest?

    2) The iPhone 4S has a great camera from Sony. That's good news, not bad news, for those that want a Galaxy S III.

    3) You want miracles so you're always going to be disappointed because this is technology not unicorns and fairies.

    4) I can tell you only understand from looking at a spec sheet. That's rudimentary, surface layer comprehension. Now that the Galaxy S III has the same camera HW as the iPhone 4S you can bet there will be extensive testing and comparison where as before that might not have happened. This is a good thing because you'll get to see which phone takes the best photos and is better to use as a camera. Understanding that these devices are more than the sum of their parts helps in understanding why users repeatedly choose certain companies/products.
  • Reply 16 of 88
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    agramonte wrote: »
    this nonsens of an interpretation of that data - at the very least - shows a great deal of persistence and creativity, I'll give Ai that.

    "While Google's OS saw an overall gain over the period, the platform saw a month-to-month decline as it stood with a 51 percent share at the end of March after rising 3.7 percent, a relatively steep bump [down to 2.2%] considering the saturated marketplace."

    Where were they being "creative" with the facts? That's the most interesting thing about this. Haven't new Android-based phones come out? Another iPhone certainly come out and neither have other vendors using other smartphone OSes seen any success that I can see. From everything I can see Android OS should have grown since March, not declined. That is news!
  • Reply 17 of 88
    shenshen Posts: 434member


    Am I misremembering the last few data sets, or is RIM about 3 quarters away from no longer existing?


     


    ...seems to me that is the bigger story than a month of small loss by Android.


     


    Yes, despite the androids inability to understand basic facts, it is interesting to see an 8 month old phone continue to stand well against the thousand some odd Android phones released.  Combined with mountains of evidence that most 'Droid phones are not used with smart phones, and Apples continued profit dominance, you have to wonder just how desperate the androids have to be to define that as "winning," true.  But still.  RIM.  Axing jobs.  Bleeding customers.  Watching as major companies choose "bring your own" models or iPhones or "Droid models.  How long can they last?

  • Reply 18 of 88
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    shen wrote: »
    Am I misremembering the last few data sets, or is RIM about 3 quarters away from no longer existing?
    Remember that the market is growing fast so even while RiM is losing customers hand-over-fist it's not as dramatic per capita as these charts show. I suspect RiM has a couple years left in them before they'd actually have to close their doors.

    I hope they find a way to make their model work. They certainly have their back end which will likely be a money maker and plateau their decline a bit. They might be able to sell QNX, too. I really don't see any real scenario where they can crawl back up to a comfortable position but I hope I'm wrong.
  • Reply 19 of 88
    constable odoconstable odo Posts: 1,041member


    That the iPhone is continuing to gain market share at all is rather amazing considering how many iHaters claim the iPhone 4S is relatively old and overpriced compared to the latest Android smartphone models.  Samsung and HTC with their latest models should have quite a window of opportunity to lay waste to the iPhone in the next few months if one were assume high sales based on the advanced hardware they're packing.  Pretty soon there isn't going to be much of RIM market share for the iPhone to take over.  It looks as though Apple might be gearing up to grab ex-feature phone users with the new carriers it's getting.  I thought Android would have run out of growth by now, but it hasn't.  I mistakenly thought that Windows Phone 7 would take market share away from Android, but so far that hasn't happened.  At least Apple can continue to make quite a bit of money from its present market share.

  • Reply 20 of 88
    macbook promacbook pro Posts: 1,605member


     


    Something smells fishy...


     


     


    Apple's iPhone accounted for 78% of AT&T smartphone activations in Q1 2012


    AT&T sold 5.5 million smartphones last quarter, and 4.3 million of those were Apple's iPhone, the company revealed in its earnings report on Tuesday.


     


    Verizon activated 3.2 million iPhones in Q1, outselling all other smartphones


    Verizon's first calendar quarter of 2012 shows strong momentum for the existing iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, which amounted to 3.2 million of the 6.3 million smartphones Verizon activated during the quarter. The allure of iPhone helped Verizon add 734,000 retail net customers in the first quarter.


     


    Sprint sold 1.5M iPhones in Q1 2012, 44% to new customers


    In all, Sprint added nearly 1.1 million new subscribers in the first quarter of 2012. That means the 660,000 new customers brought by the iPhone accounted for about 60 percent of the new subscribers Sprint added in the three-month span.

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