After Apple introduced the iPhone in June 2007, it really took off. It was a sensation. The only drawback at the time was that only one U.S. carrier, AT&T, carried the phone. Now, all the major carriers and many smaller carriers offer the iPhone.
When Android phones came out in 2008, they expanded the market more than took away iPhone sales. Me, for instance. I eventually switched from a BlackBerry to an Android phone. I was with Verizon, and, at the time, Verizon didn’t carry the iPhone, so, if I wanted one of those fancy phones, an Android phone was the best option.
Today, the iPhone is the top-selling phone. Now, before you get your panties in a wad, hear me out. It’s a matter of statistics, which can prove anything if you play with the numbers enough.
In the most recent numbers, iPhone has 39.2% of the market. While Android phones have 52.4% of the market, that’s spread across Samsung (23%), HTC (8.7%), Motorola (7.8%), LG (6.7%), and others (6.2%). So, iPhone is still the top-selling phone.
Now, as for operating system, Android is tops. But not really. There are a slew of Android operating systems. I’m not talking the skins the manufacturers put on top of the OS, I’m talking the actual underlying OS.
Apple’s iOS has 39.2% of the market, but there are different versions of iOS. The top is also the latest: iOS 6 is on 92.7% of devices. That works out to 36.3% of smartphones running iOS 6. And, that’s the top of all mobile operating systems.
Combined, all Android operating systems account for 52.4% of the market, but the leader is Jelly Bean (4.1.x, 4.2.x; API 16 & 17, respectively), which accounts for 37.9% of Android installations. That works out to 19.9% of smartphones running a version of Jelly Bean. That’s just over half of the number running iOS 6.
So, the actual top phone is Apple’s iPhone, and the top operating system is iOS 6.
What brought all this up? Well, I upgraded a phone a little over 18 months ago. At the time, Verizon was doing the 20-month renewal thing. So, 20 months will be up in early September. That’s six weeks away. I’m beginning to seriously think about a replacement for my iPhone 4. So, I decided to look at what others are using. And, those statistics tell me … it’s a strange market. Number two is number one and number one is number two and it’s just a big old jumble.
I don’t expect to change carriers (I’d have to wait for January for that, and I’m not unhappy with Verizon), so I’ll likely renew with Verizon. So, which phone to get?
Another iPhone? (I do like the iPhone. I really do.) Or, is there a reason to go back to Android?
Yes, I have an Apple computer, but I rarely sync my phone to my computer. With iOS 6, it’s really not necessary anymore.
I have an Apple TV, but I never use AirPlay to send phone content to it. I also have a Roku, so if I did want to send content to the TV, I could use Roku with an Android device for that.
I have an iPad (older first generation), but I also have a Kindle Fire (Android-based).
So, yes, I’m in the Apple ecosystem, but I’m comfortable outside it, too.
Truth be told, I’m leaning toward a new iPhone. Which I’d be happy with. But, I’m open to other phones. Tell me what you like about your Android phone. Or, your Windows phone. Or your BlackBerry. Okay, I’m just kidding about the BlackBerry.
But really, I’m curious about these Galaxy Maxx One phones, or whatever they are. I’m open to suggestions.
Suggest.
Like this:
Like Loading...