comScore Report: Android More Popular than iOS
Google's Android reigned supreme over fellow competitors in February as the most popular smartphone operating system in the U.S. mobile market according to a new comScore report.
The report reveals that Android captured 52.1 percent of the U.S. smartphone market share during a three-month period ending in Feburary 2014, up 0.2 percentage points from the three-month period ending in November 2013. Only Microsoft experienced more growth during the same time.
Apple's iOS platform came in second with a 41.3 percent market share for the same timeframe ending in February. BlackBerry snagged 2.9 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from November, while Microsoft rose 0.3 percentage points from November to 3.1 percent.
A similar comScore report released in March showed that Android had a 51.7 percent market for a three-month period leading up to January 2014. Apple at 41.6 percent at the time, BlackBerry had 3.1 percent, and Microsoft had 3.2 percent.
The data comes courtesy of comScore MobiLens and Mobile Metrix.
As far as smartphone manufacturers go, however, Apple clearly dominated. The sole manufacturer of the popular iPhone garnered a 41.3 percent market share (the same as the iOS market share since iPhones only run iOS), well ahead of second-place Samsung's 27 percent market share for the three-month period ending February 2014. LG was third with 6.8 percent, followed by Motorola with 6.3 percent and HTC with 5.4 percent.
Google sites, Yahoo sites, and Facebook sites were the most-visited on smartphones in that order, while Facebook, Google Play, and Google Search were the top three smartphone apps.
Android's success in 2014 merely continues a trend that began in 2013. Last year marked the first year that Android really took off, distancing itself from Apple in many regards. Android smartphones and tablets handily outsold Apple's iPhone and iPad lineup in 2013, although it's important to remember that there are multiple Android OEMs compared to only one for iOS. Android is also a heavy driver of Latin America's smartphone sales growth.
However, many fear that market saturation and the lack of truly new innovative devices may slow Android's growth in 2014.
"We expect Android's growth to slow further in 2014 due to market saturation, and rivals like Microsoft or Firefox will be ready to pounce on any signs of a major slowdown for Android this year," reads a Strategy Analytics report on 2013's smartphone market.
"As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditized, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value -- beyond just hardware and cost -- to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins," wrote Gartner research director Roberta Cozza earlier this year.