iOS has clawed back enough market share in the US that it is now approximately even with Android in terms of number of buyers, claims a Monday report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), seen by Cult of Mac. The results, which cover the calendar quarter ending June 30, are a far cry from just four years ago, when US mobile market share approached 70% in Android’s favor.
It speaks to the greater level of loyalty of iPhone users over their Android-loving brethren and sistren.
“Apple iOS and Google Android are now roughly at parity in terms of share of buyers,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP partner and co-founder in a statement. “For several years Android smartphones had a significant edge, with over 60% of customers opting for an Android phone in most quarters. In the past couple of years, though, iOS has closed the gap, and now splits the market with Android.”
The value of market share
Ultimately, market share is only one metric (and not always a very good one) to judge success. While Android handsets have, collectively, previously dominated iOS, iPhones still generated far more money than Android phones. iPhone customers spend more on apps as well, so that Android typically towers over iOS in terms of total number of downloads, but a disproportionate amount of profit comes from iOS. CIRP doesn’t share any worldwide figures, but it’s likely that Android continues to dominate there due to developing markets where the average cost of a smartphone is far lower.
Nonetheless, the report is good news for Apple. Notably, it highlights the loyalty of iPhone customers. According to CIRP, 93% of prior iPhone owners upgrade to a new iPhone. That’s slightly more than the 88% of Android owners who automatically decide to replace their old Android with a new one. That might not sound much of a discrepancy. Nonetheless, the fact that iPhone loyalty has increased while Android has stayed flat means a steadily growing number of iPhone users.
CIRP’s findings aren’t concrete, it should be pointed out. They are based on a survey of 500 US customers that activated a new or used phone in the April-June 2021 period. This is then extrapolated to draw bigger trends.
Have you jumped ship from Android to iOS, or vice versa? How about from Windows to Mac? What was your experience like? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
