Android vs. iOS: Consumer Incomes Shed Light on Market Share
Is it possible to tell an Android junkie from an iOS-head? Possibly, according to one analyst, if you look at incomes.
Andreessen Horowitz analyst Benedict Evans wrote in his blog last week about Android and iOS market share based on Facebook login data.
"This is a pretty good example of an unfair but relevant comparison: Facebook's active users of Android and IOS by region," Evans said.
"People who buy $600 phones (Apple's ASP) and people who buy phones for $250 (Android's ASP) or less tend to be different types of people," he continued. "Of course, whether everyone in Greenwich who will ever get one already has an iPhone, and hence whether there's any more growth to be had, is another equally relevant question."
His graph shows how Apple's iOS is more popular in higher-income areas such as Greenwich, Connecticut (home to many hedge fund managers) but Android wins out in places with less per-capita income. India, for instance, largely preferred Android.
Is it really a surprise though?
Recent data has shown Android to be the overwhelming winner in the international smartphone OS market. Most tallies have Android taking 80 percent of the market in 2013, with growth extending into this year. And while Apple certainly has a stronghold in the United States, developing countries and Latin American countries tend to choose Android over iOS.
The reason behind it is simple: Android has far more cheaper options that can still deliver a highly connected and sensitive experience.
Here are what some analyst reports have to say about 2014's smartphone market share war:
"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 from January.
"Apple's iOS also achieved steady progress with 17 percent year-on-year growth, but growth is undoubtedly flattening and the iPhone 5c has done little to boost sales volumes," reads a recent ABI Research report.
"We believe that the disappointing performance in the early part of the calendar year is because Apple has changed its product release cycle to the holiday timeframe," director of tablets at Strategy Analytics Peter King said earlier this year.
"iOS will likely lose share over the next several months to refreshed Android products, but we believe Apple will win back meaningful high-end market share during the final months of the calendar year."