Apple’s iOS may be more popular with app developers, but Google’s Android platform outsold iOS products three to one in the second quarter. Google
Android smartphones outsold Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS smartphones nearly three to one last quarter, according to numbers released by technology research firm Gartner today. Android comprised 64 percent of the worldwide smartphone market share, compared to 19 percent belonging to iOS. And get this, Apple enthusiasts, Samsung sold by far the most smartphones—nearly 100 million of them, compared to nearly 30 million sold by Apple.
Yes, Samsung Galaxy III was launched this quarter; that likely boosted sales. Yes, consumers are holding off on buying iPhones as rumors swirl that the iPhone 5 is right around the corner. But, according to TechCrunch, even accounting for those circumstances, Android is still winning:
During Apple’s best iPhone quarter, Q1 of 2012, the company moved 33M iPhones—an impressive feat considering there are only three models. Now, during Android’s best quarter, there were 98M units sold. There is simply no comparison.
Clearly Android phones are dominating the smartphone market, but mobile app developers commonly unveil their products on the iPhone or iPad first, then create a version later for Android. Instagram did not arrive on Android phones for nearly a year and a half after the iPhone app’s release. Angry Birds took a year to get to Android.
Apple may be where the money is, but Android is where the people are. There may be legitimate reasons why developers pick iOS over Android, but entrepreneurs have to go where the customers are. Smartphone customers have clearly chosen Android.
And yet all those impressive numbers could be for naught if Apple is awarded the $2.88 billion it is seeking in an ongoing patent case it filed against Samsung, in which case not only will the South Korean company be out the money, but all those patents could be pulled—or, at very least, they will have to pay for them.
http://upstart.bizjournals.com
Android dominates smartphone 3 to 1 as usual
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