Data Monday: The Hidden Smartphone "Market"

by May 2, 2011

While most reports about mobile operating systems focus on smartphone market share, there's a more interesting story about what platform is "winning" happening behind the scenes.

  • As of March 2011, Google's Android held the #1 position with 39% percent market share worldwide. Apple ranked second with 15.7% market share, followed by RIM with 14.9% percent. (source)
  • As of February 2011, Google's Android held the #1 position with 33% percent market share in the United States. RIM ranked second with 28% market share, followed by Apple with 25% percent. (source)
  • However, If you add other mobile devices like tablets to the mix, Apple Inc.’s iOS beats Android in the United States by a 59% margin. (source)
  • With just 4.2% of the global mobile handset market, Apple's iPhone accounts for a massive 51% of the total profit. (source)
  • In the first three quarters of 2010, 10 million new Android devices created a gain of about 9% in browsing share. In the same quarter, 14.8 million iOS devices created about 37% gain in browsing share. (source)
  • At the beginning of the 2010, iPhone consumption was at least 4 times higher than that of any other smartphone platform. Toward the end of the year, iPhone consumption was only 1.75 times higher than that of the second-highest platform, Android. (source)
  • While over 3 billion Android apps have been installed by users, over 10 billion app have been downloaded on Apple's smartphone platform. (source)
  • 91% of developers report interest in building for iPhone. Android developer interest saw a 2-point drop to 85%, but Android tablet interest fell 3 points to 71% since the prior survey from Q1 2011. (source)
  • iOS apps generate 47% of total smartphone app revenue. Android apps generate 36% of total smartphone app revenue. (source)
  • While 57% of Google Android apps are free, only 28% of iPhone Apps are free. (source)