By 
Analytics firm Nielsen statistics from their Q2 2012 subscriber data has shown Android extend its significant lead over Apple, with a 51.8% marketshare compared to iOS’s 34.3%. In Q1 2012, the scores stood at 48.5% for Android to Apple’s 32%. About a year ago (Q3 2011, I was unable to find the Q2 2011 data for a YoY comparison) Android had a 44.2% to 28.6% lead. These are minor growths, but it shows that regardless of the injunction requests and all the legal hoopla, and despite all the “fragmentation” talk, Apple is nowhere close to closing the gap on Android.
In the manufacturer’s stakes, Samsung is the leading OEM as expected, with their Android devices accounting for a 17% total marketshare. HTC is second at 14%, Motorola third at 11% and the rest accounting for 9%. Looking over at the other platforms, Blackberry has dropped from 17% in Q3 2011 to 9%. Windows Phone 7 is stagnant at a meager 1.3%, with all the money spent on marketing still unable to get them to even half of Windows Mobile’s 3% share.
[via Brief Mobile]
Wow! Windows Mobile still has over twice the marketshare of Windows Phone?
Not a good sign, Microsoft…not a good sign.
lol I once heard that Microsoft makes more money off of strong arming Android OEM’s for royalty and licensing fees than they do off of their own WP7 OS.
And, the OEMS still make more money with Android even while Microsoft “Apples” them to death. Fuck yeah Android!
Every OEM except Samsung is losing money. You really don’t know this?
lol. lol lol lol. That changes every quarter, dude.
This is mirroring the Apple vs Microsoft computer wars of the 80s.
The Mac hit the market 2 years before Windows 1.0 and Microsoft still managed to pull ahead due to the platform being less controlling and more open to 3rd party innovation.
Apple sued Microsoft over stealing tiny little ideas like icons back in 1988. Apple is suing Android OEMs for stealing tiny little ideas like slide to unlock now.
Looking back at Tech War 1 is pretty wild: http://www.manolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/history-of-computing-full.png
De ja vue huh….
Wow.
Apple has survived in the desktop wars. They just need to chill and deal with it.
Spot on!
Well done!
Interesting for historical points of reference, but the stock prices are VERY misleading. Microsoft has had a total of 9 stock splits (7 @ 2:1, 2 @ 3:2) and Apple has had 3 @ 2:1.
True, but I put up the infographic to paint a very general view of the history of that period of time.
More people are dumping iPhone/iOS for Samsung and HTC for the past 1 year! 10 out of 10 close friends of mine had switched to Android since August 2011. Steve Jobs can’t RIP in his coffin now with Apple’s lawyers continue to sent out letters. Many people especially younger genreation are fed up with Apple lawsuits against its competitors! Period.
When I bought the GS3 was the first time that all the people in the Sprint store were asking for the same GS3 and now few people in the streets have asked me “is that the GS3″…
Hah. Most don;t know and even fewer care.
deja vu
Probably 1/3rd of people with Android phones only have them because it cost them a penny with a new 2 year contract. Most wish they had iPhones, but didn’t want to pay the cost. I’m not an Apple fanboy, but it’s the truth of the situation.
Truth?
Based on what studies? What cold, hard.FACTS do you have that the rest of us do not?
Truth?
Hardly…just you own biased interpretation of flawed evidence.
Not an Apple fanboy? too bad. At least you’d have had an excuse then.
regardless of everyone’s harsh replies, I’m with PC_Tool on this one. don’t get all defensive just because he makes a valid observation. when I see people with android phones the majority of the time it’s the low end junk phones. it’s the reality. Not a knock against android. the good news to all of this is I have a feeling that these users see some of the higher end phones is power users are supporting and it drives them to upgrade. This makes the platform more viral, IMO
Maybe you just need to move to a nicer part of town. ;-)
quite possibly.
I think you mis-read my response…
“it’s the reality”
Hardly. It’s your version of reality, which I highly doubt you have anything but anecdotal evidence to provide supporting proof of.
Fact-based reality screams otherwise.
The highest selling Android devices are, in fact, far from the “low-end” of the pack. The SII, currently one of the best selling mobile devices in the world (and *the* best selling Android device) is hardly what any sane individual would call “low end junk”.
The SIII, which looks set to take that title from the SII, is also anything *but* low end junk.
You can try to convince people otherwise…but not without ignoring reality.
FWIW: I *love* your alias!
How do you explain the vast amount of Galaxy SIII pre-orders? That phone was not a penny with a new 2yr contract.
especially on tmo
Exactly. And…ppl get Android phones at retail prices, especially the tech junkies.
The lower prices dont come into play until a few months later. There are some myths concerning Apple vs Android that really dont fly anymore.
The difference is with Android, recent phones are released for a cheaper price….while the older models of the iPhone are the cheaper prices.
The iPhone on more carriers hasnt dont anything to hurt Android.
iPhones at a cheaper price hasnt hurt anything.
When are ppl gonna just start giving Android credit where credit is due…its a decent product, period. RIM, Palm, WP and the old Win Mo also has those penny deals, BOGO free and $99 deals. What has it done for them? Win Mo STILL has a bigger marketshare than WP.
Top end Android phones cost just the same as the iPhone on contract. Also, the lower end Android phones that you suggested cost only a penny on a new contract have more features than the iPhone.
Sorry, wrong again. They have a mobile with the Android OS because they had a choice :) I had the same choice, ended up with an HTC One X as I didnt want the glass faced tin box with an outdated 4×5 UI
You’ve expressed a popular — tho’, if I may be frank, more than a bit pathetically desperate sounding — theory among Android’s enemies, but one which runs counter to the known facts. Here are three quick tidbits worth considering (or maybe even researching for yourself?) before passing along unproved claims you’ve read, elsewhere.
1. In many countries, iOS competes with Android in the ‘no-cost phone’ segment. Starting in October 2011, Apple’s iPhone 3GS is generally available on a free-with-contract basis. As many iFans will be happy to tell you, the 3GS is compatible with the latest version of iOS. And, tho’ it has neither Siri nor a ‘retina’ display, the 3GS matches up (at least) pretty well with any phone offered no-cost — a group which includes only older and low-end Android models.
2. Similarly, the iPhone 4 is generally available at $99 (or local equivalent) with contract. Again, this makes it very competitive with similarly priced Android phones.
3. But here’s the secret iFans don’t want to hear; the top-selling Android models are also the most expensive ones. This goes all the way back to 2009 and the very first multi-million selling Android phone, Verizon’s original Droid by Motorola. Millions bought it at full (subsidized) retail, then a greater number did the same just six months later with the Droid X. Today, combined sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and the Galaxy SIII are well over 30 million units.
Face it: Apple zealots and Google haters of all stripes have been proclaiming Android’s demise since 2008. “Just wait for iOS 3!” or “Just wait for iPhone 4!” or “Just wait for Verizon’s iPhone!” and “Siri is the killer app!”, etc. And yet, today, Android is selling better than ever — at 1,000,000 units per day, at least 50% higher than iPhone. Plus, those numbers continue to rise every quarter. There’s no doubt pricing plays a part, but it can’t explain everything.
Speaking for myself, I don’t care why people are buying Android.
What are the parameters shaping demand, in order?
Price, product, promotion and the marketing avenue.
Android is all about choice. Low cost Android phones ensure that no one needs to be left behind. Do more expensive models do more? Like all products, the answer is yes, pretty often. Do people paying compact prices expect top features? Not reasonable ones, I think.
So, I don’t care why Android sells more. It just does. And because of that, the choices in hardware and software expand while competition increases. I like companies competing for my money. I win.
Apple doesn’t compete for my money, but I guess they do for others, so that’s fine, too.
Has it been confirmed from Google that an activation is *only* a new subscriber? To me an activation is a new subscriber and existing ones purchasing a new handset. I’m still clicking through Google to find such a quote.
Oh I found a link: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/01/steve-jobs-hits-google-with-number-counting-accusations/
My heart wants to believe there are nearly 1 million activations a day but my instincts are telling me they are cheating. I do believe that Android is outselling Apple but not at a 4:1 ratio.
Yes, Google reps — notably Andy Rubin (see link, below) — have said repeatedly that their “new Android activations per day” figures specifically refer to…
• …only new devices…
• …activated by the end-user…
• …and not previously activated (no ‘re-treads’)
https://plus.google.com/u/0/112599748506977857728/posts/Kkjf8oESTZs
Well, that’s your decision to make. Nothing anyone can say or show will prove the veracity of Google’s figures beyond all possible reproach. But let’s note there are no obviously conflicting stats — not from any source.
Also, for the record, I have it on good authority that (a) Google hold back their “new activations” announcements until those counts are double-checked and (b) all such figures are rounded down (not up) before public release.
Not sure where you got that ratio, but I’ve seen no reported figures even close to 4:1 — not from Google, nor Nielsen, IDC, Gartner, etc. I suggest re-checking your source. Typical worldwide numbers top out at @ 1.5:1 – 1.75:1
.
Andy Rubin – Dec 20, 2011
“…and for those wondering, we count each device only once (ie, we don’t count re-sold devices), and “activations” means you go into a store, buy a
device, put it on the network by subscribing to a wireless service.”
Direct from the horses mouth…so to speak.
2 years ago I would have agreed with you. However now, I find more people switching from iOS to Android. Especially do to the hardware in the last year and Android’s improvement since. 4.0+.
Cool. My brother-in-law got his ATT iP3gs for a penny a few months ago.
I have no idea what people wish for. I do know what some are wishing right now though. ;) :)
Logic and Apple fans never go hand in hand, I see. Are you going to use that tired old argument of Apple being for the rich and Android being for the poor? Please…
iphone 3gs costs $1 brand new or 1 penny for refurbished with a 2 year contract on at&t… people with androids generally trade or sell or buy them out of contract like i do. Android phones the ones that make up this huge market share do not cost only pennies a sgs3 on tmo cost 329$ at minimum much more expensive than the iphone. the thought that iphone is expensive is funny considering it costs the same as any other device on contract when new
actually Android phones and iPhones cost exactly the same, and when Verizon offered me any phone in their store for free a couple months back I took the Nexus over the iPhone. Your theory is completely absurd show me an iPhone for 300 bucks on contract and I will show you a Android phone for the same price, show me a iPhone at 600 bucks unlocked and I will show you an Android phone equally in price maybe even more costly
I should prob also mention the iPhone is ugly as hell, I mean wants up with all that bezel, next to the nexus it looks outdated
OMG OMG I’ve been waiting soooo long to hear this. The truth, everyone, the TRUTH! He knows the TRUTH!!11
Bullshit, you can get anold 3rd Gen for free or 50 bucks.
Depends what market you’re looking at.
In the developed world, people buy premium Android models that are just as expensive as the iPhone. These premium models are in fact the most popular Android models, and you’d have to be deluded to think that people buy SGS3s because they can’t afford an iPhone.
In the Third World, iPhones are practically non-existent, but inexpensive Android phones are everywhere. I think that’s a *good* thing. Android is helping to abolish the global “digital divide”.
WP 1.3% haha
not so much true, look at all of those people on welfare that are sporting iPhones, I work 40+ hrs a week and so does the wife and the only one that has a iPhone is my daughter. Why? Because a iPhone is simple, how can you mess up a iPhone downloading apps, most iPhone users only know how turn on, download apps & post pics on facebook…..what a shame , I am sure if I told my daughter jailbreak her iPhone she probably could but that is what she has daddy for, but also 1/3 of iPhone users think that their iPhone 4 is 4g…lmao, yeah the 4s has the 4g icon since the update but guess what it’s not true 4g
Generalize much Mr. 1%?
Technically it is 4g though. Technicalities though.
@drew56 if I had to have iOS over android I would buy an iPhone 3g used. While this still costs more than the free subsidized phones, it would be attainable for those who cannot afford the 200 dollar price.
In the beginning, people were lured to iPhone because of the simplicity of iOS and the device. My family has no idea what is going on with technology, but low and behold EVERYONE has an iPhone. People began jailbreaking them, so that appealed to the hardcore techs out there, so they went with it. Since Android has become so popular and gotten it’s act together, the serious techs finally have a phone that lets them do what they want. Android has also gone the way of being able to offer low-end, simpler phones to those who don’t need all the fancy stuff.
Android lets you do whatever you want to do, whether you are a hardcore techie or a technophobe. That is what is luring people to Android now. I, also, believe it is like someone said, the people who have been with iPhone for so long and have waited for that “next big thing” only to receive a rinsed and reused iOS with a dash of creativity (mostly from other sources) have finally gotten fed up and moved on.
I only had an iPhone because I was with AT&T on a family plan. I broke off from there and moved to Verizon when the Galaxy 1 came out and haven’t missed iOS since!
I`m wondering if Apple preparing a case against NEONODE for the Slide to unlock the phone too!!
From its founding Google has focused on bringing knowledge to its users. Recently it has unified user knowledge through Chrome and Android 4.0+. This system openly associates knowledge of user’s individual needs as expressed by Google+ searches on Chrome Browsers synchronized by users having desktops, laptops, chrome books, tablets, and smart phones. All these computers have now become artificially intelligent through g+, but only if the user so chooses. Google Now, turns your smart phone, tablet and PC into your personal digital assistant.
Smart phones, tablets , laptops, and transportable desktops all unite to give you artificially intelligent advice. It is only a matter of time until smart phones and tablets are named for what they do, personally assist.
Microsoft and Apple don’t know what they are doing. Microsoft thinks that enterprise users can force their employees to become less knowledgeable. Apple thinks that their users don’t want artificially intelligent personal assistance (other than speech recognition).
Google believes that all your sensory inputs can be assisted: speech, touch, snapshot, video (smell, taste await Android chemistry apps). Moreover Google has always known that speed in locating and ranking sources for your knowledge is essential. Only Google has been in the knowledge software business from the beginning.
I find it amusing that Nokia, despite only manufacturing W7-smartphones now, still has a smaller marketshare with W7-devices than both Samsung and HTC^^
To be fair, Nokia never had a very high a profile in the US, and this is US data. In Europe, nearly 90% of WP7 devices are Nokia. Still not a lot of phones, though – about 2.2% of the European market. In Finland recently, their market share was reckoned at 31% (yay!), but that was before the Samsung Galaxy S III launched (boo! — actually, not boo, I like them Galaxies). A few days ago, the Finnish PM declared that the government will not bail out Nokia. (Awww!) Massive patents auction coming up! (Maybe?)
The best analogy for iOS is the COD series. It has been essentially the same game with different slight tweaks for the last several years, is it the best selling single game? Yes. Is it the best, and most impressive? Nope.
COD is no longer the best selling single game that honor belongs to DIablo 3 now
Funny you mention that. I recently bought Battlefield 3 for my brother who is obsessed with military first person shooters, especially Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops.
He LOVES Battlefield 3 now and has decided it’s a better game than Call of Duty, and I asked him why it wasn’t as popular as Call of Duty. His answer: “I don’t know. Why are people so stupid for the iPhone?”
The public has spoken.. with their wallets.
I think the iPhone is a nice device, with beautiful craftsmanship but the Galaxy Nexus is the greatest device I’ve ever seen and used in regards to design, UI, usability…
I like that people can choose between Android and iOS and Windows and RIM and so on but if it were up to Apple, it would be the same as Ford declaring that the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro infringe on their product and try to ban their sales.
The Camaro launched in 2010 and spanked the Mustang. in 2011, Ford launched the 5.0 liter engine and smoked the Camaro. Healthy competition. Does Apple know what that is? Do they?
Yep — it’s clear that choice (or ‘flexibility’ or ‘customization’) is at the heart of Android’s success. And I like that parallel you draw about Mustang v Camaro, in regard to market competition.
However, as a longtime Ford fan I have to point out that the ‘classic’ 1960s-early ’70s Mustangs always outsold General Motors’ Camaro-Firebird duo by at least 2:1. And Ford smallblocks — whether 4.7L or 5.0L — have been spanking Chevies since 1963. ;-)
I’m on my 2nd Mustang myself ;-)
Rock on, Mustang dude. :-)
Look at all the people on welfare that have iPhone’s? How would that moron know this unless he was standing on line with them waiting for his own check.
Not sure what some of you are reading, but Apple is the only one close even close to 34%… Androids sales are like its OS, fragmented.. Apples sales arent shared among a bunch of companies with crappy overlays (not you HTC) and interpretations of Android.. I had/have most of the the early 1.6 to 2.3 devices and recently left my iPhone and tried an ICS Maxx and was not impressed at all… When will Android natively have:
1) solid total backup like Apple?
2) fix the contacts/ social integrations in ICS?
3) make mail easier for us with 5 or more accounts, then back them up?
4) the stop of fragmentation?
5) buy and app once, and use it for whole family like itunes?
6) no advertisements and unwanted programs you cant delete?
If you love to tweak the Android is your device.. But for alot of us I just want my phone to work and do what I need it to… I do miss my sense clock and blik calendar on my OG and DX, but theres a lot I dont miss either…
1 You can back up your phone completely, just set it in settings.
2 it’s not broken, that’s only relevant to the Nexus because Google itself set that rule but there are apps like Haxsync that fixes that easily. All other Androids have amazing social contact integrating.
3. If you use Gmail then all your email accounts are backed up.
4 Buy a Galaxy Nexus, also HTC and Samsung have limited the amount of phones they produce so to cut down on fragmenting.
5 What the heck are you talking about? We have six devices in our family and we share the same account in the app stores. You simply use another gmail account if you want to sync your personal contacts or email with that account. Again, this is something you choose inside settings. Been doing that since doughnut and now in Jelly Bean. You just simply choose the Google account you want the store to use of course.
6 Buy a Nexus, or ANY device with ICS or Jelly bean, you can disable the apps you don’t want and in many cases even uninstall them.
7 You should stick to Apple because with Android you actually have to use the easy to understand settings and apply them. Apple has apps that sit all over your screen and scroll left to right. Sure that’s what it will do for a long time to come. One day you will be able to “delete all” in your text app. Only took 3 phones to give you video recording and almost four for wallpapers. Sound like one little micro change a year might be the right speed for most iPhone users.
When I read his #5….I didnt really read anymore.
Clearly someone who hasnt spent much time with Android….lol. I have 4 phones and apps are shared across every phone.
1) backup? try Titanium backup and tons of other free apps. iOS hardly know the word “free”
2)google integrates all your contacts from gmal, yahoo, etc natively. Just enter your email addres and boom!
3)iphone doesnt even allow you. ALLOW you, to have more than one email account.
google and all others allow you infinite amount of email accounts
4)fragmentation? oh, you mean like the iphone’s 2G, 3G, 3Gs, 4, 4s, that’s fragmentation too. Or as we call it in android: os versions.
5) haha.. we buy apps only once and it’s ours forever, in every single device we own, not only one.
6)ads? oh, like iAd. That’s from apple.
7) you want a phone that “just works”, then buy a flip phone. They always just work.
The iphone is a flip phone actually, with a screen. So, yes. It just works lol
The iPhone looks outdated, even if it isn’t That can affect the typical consumers decision.
Down with the sickness!
Apple going berserk? They are quire comfortable with the sales and profits they are seeing, far, far more than Android. The only Android manufacturer not losing money is Samsung.
correct me if I am wrong. ButI am using Samsung Galaxy lineup ever since they came out with SGS 1. And the first app I have alwyas installed on any phone I had was “NO LOCK” to avoid the stupid slide to unlock I had to deal with on an iPhone before. And now the point – isn’t maybe the reason that Samsung left (thanx god) the hardware button on all versions of
SGS3? If Apple ever sues them for the usless slide to unlock feature patent, they will just leave it out and switch the unlocking to pushing the harware button, which is much better and comfortible anyway?!
Did anyone notice this graph is INCORRECT? Android is 51% market share yet it doesn’t represent 51% of the graph.
tinyurl.com/7zjh3zc