It has now happened in the US, do you think the same will happen in Australia too? Or is this just a result of the trade war between US and China?
iPhone Overtakes Android to Claim Majority of US Smartphone Market
BendBridge on 04/09/2022 - 09:09
Comments
For me Sony with their latest two are the only ones really flying the flag for what Android used to be and its core strengths. Bespoke niche phones which appeal to a minority of users. Follow this recepie enough times and cirital mass of everyone having found the thing which suits their personal needs is what kept Android with the market share they had.
Now the boutique brands like LG, Moto, and HTC are basically out of the game and the big players like Samsung are becoming more Apple like in their design and package choices will see future degradation of market share.
People like Android for Android, make Android Apple and you've lost what was unique and they can't compete in that space as you'll always be playing catchup, Apple do Apple better than anyone else. My next phone will probably be Sony 5 IV and that was a long time coming to get the SDCard, headphone jack, 5000mAh battery and wireless charging combo. These were Androids bread and butter and they'll continue to go down unless they go back and focus on their strengths.
I'm sad Sony is out of the aus market but the devices are priced way too high.
I was looking at the vivo phones but they're a gamble due to warranty and cost. No headphone jack but ir blaster.
I've got a Vivo (albeit an entry level one so has headphone but no ir blaster) I would not recommend it. It's ok but if you try do more than make phonecalls or use google apps you'll come up with lots of ways to tear your hair out. Even that is exacerbated by the fact that there is nothing online to help solve problems because no one owns one and Vivo won't respond.
@cantanga: Hmm, good to know. I've tended to avoid the budget phones.
I recently got an Oppo Find x3 pro, the previous year's flagship for half RRP. Pretty snappy but it's on old firmware.
I'm sad Sony is out of the aus market but the devices are priced way too high.
I think they're worth it. Pretty happy with my imported Xperia 1iii
I'll probably get the 1iv or 1v in the future.
Love that they brought back the headphone jack, I'd switched from Sony to LG when Sony removed the jack.
agreed my last samsung note 10 plus that still support microsd. Maybe i am considering the sony if they support sd card for their premium device
To be honest it doesn't really matter if you're in the Google Ecosystem, you can still use the iPhone quite well as the Google Apps for iPhone are really good, if not better than Android equivalents in terms of stability etc.
I trust google servers more than apple too. 15gb of storage is nice and can sync contacts which comes in handy if you lose your phone.
Are you able to set default apps for things which are already default on iPhone? Change which browser any links open in, etc
I think that you can, Apple recently updated it. However to what extent you're able to set default apps, I'm not sure, best to Google it.
i am not surprised. while androids did offer better value for your money for a few years, they are now just as expensive as iphones and often have more bugs and worse performance.
i hold no loyalty to any brand, but i have had experience with several phones in recent years, 1 iphone and 2 androids, the iphone is pretty good, and if i were to buy another phone, i'd probably go apple again, unless an android manufacturer really does something different that i like, all phones these days are more or less the same.
the only real complaint about the iphone that i have is that it doesn't allow you to install extensions on firefox, as opposed to android which allows you to install extensions like ublock origin ( a godsend, especially for mobile )
When I see my apple-using family members and friends have to watch an ad on YouTube before showing me the thing they wanna show me, I am instantly reminded why my $300 Android is everything I need.
And when you iPhone family airdropping photos between them, you would be begging them to share lower quality photos via WhatsApp.
There’s always pros and cons.
I use brave browser on iPhone, no YouTube ads…
Good to know. I installed adguard on the missus's iphone.
Yep, I think the downfall of Android (apart from the fragmentation) has been blindly following Apple into selling phones for eye watering sums, instead of ridiculing Apple and focusing on making solid cheap alternatives
Get AdGuard on iOS. Blocks ads on the entire device, so no ads in games, apps, etc.
Does it blockout Spotify ads on the app?
Spotify give lifetime bans to people who block ads, so no. The developer actually had to remove being able to do it to prevent users getting banned.
I use Wipr on Mac OS as well as iOS and never have to deal with ads.
A lot of Android/Windows users' complaints are just because they don't know how to do the same things on an Apple phone or computer.Flagship android may now e as poor value as apple, but android is still great value in the mid tier range.
My last 4 phones were the Moto g3, g6, redmir note 9 and now a Moto g51 5g.
All of these cost around 250 bucks and have been utterly reliable and s great user experience.
Yeah, have to agree.
Bought my mum an Oppo phone. Not sure which model, but under $400 and I was really impressed with it when setting it up.
Great screen, cameras, snappy, awesome battery life, rapid charger in the box unlike most flagships.
Really good options for Android devices in the mid range now.
All the android devices I’ve had have disintegrated into buggy messes. Tablets, smart tv devices, and phones, have just gone to shit in periods under 2 years. The customisation options are fantastic on android; but iOS devices last longer and are better supported. I Jailbroke an old iPad 2 recently but it’s kinda pointless these days
All the android devices I’ve had have disintegrated into buggy messes. Tablets, smart tv devices, and phones, have just gone to shit in periods under 2 years.
Not sure what you're doing with your devices. I have friends who are into their 3rd and 4th year with their Android devices and they have no urge to upgrade because their phone still works.
Literally nothing, my Samsung tablet just became unbelievably slow not long after purchase, other tablets did as well and phones despite trying to run Leaner roms; and then the latest thing, my Foxtel android tv boxes died by suicide. Just can’t see the point in running them. My old roku/Telstra tvs are fine on the other hand
What specific devices or age range?
I remember having some issues with older Android devices slowing down. Devices in the past 5 or 6 years or newer have remained reasonably performant for me.
Got Samsung S7 and iPhone 7 Plus one for work and one for personal at the time and S7 died within 2 years and iPhone 7 Plus was going for a good 5 years before I sold it for $280. S7 wasn’t even worth $50 at that time when I looked upon eBay and mobile monster. Even Samsung trade in didn’t want S7 but ok with iPhone 7 Plus. How ironic.
My Huawei Mate 10 is in its 5th (?) year and literally not a thing wrong with it.
I switched from my Mate 10 to an S20 FE about two years ago and regret it. Hot garbage ever since. Can't wait to switch to something else.
@ihfree: Snapdragon. Touchscreen issues. Pretty often I'll be swiping and the phone will think my finger has lifted off the screen when it hasn't. Particularly frustrating when I swipe to type. It can take two/three attempts at swiping a word before going through.
There have also been periods of days where my phone will just freeze up for a minute at a time.
@Setiawan: Same issue for me on the S20FE but to a much lesser extent. It's never been as bad as other users have reported on my phone. It improved massively with firmware updates to the point it's almost a non issue.
If you're still having issues, it would probably be worth contacting Samsung regarding warranty.
I've never had an issue with freezing or unresponsiveness.
I've had the phone about 23 months now. There's no sign of issues and would expect at least another years life from it.
@Setiawan: I thought about that one but glad I didn't then. Would be hard not to just find a used one of these if the unf was to occur.
Sometimes people buy the $99 Android phone from Coles with 2GB RAM and then wonder why it isn't performing as well as a $1000 new iPhone
My s9+ is still going 4 years later
Note 9 going strong for 4 years. Wont be changing phone anytime soon.
Got to love the link to the article and data to check what the article is really saying as companies love to exagerate or compare apples V's oranges as apples are harder and therefore better.
Would rather set fire to my ass than use an iPhone.
I have been given one for work use and absolutely hate the thing.
Will be sticking to android for my personal phone for a good while.
What's bothering you about it? Always curious to hear arguments for and against a product.
I find android far more intuitive to use.
iPhones tend to be vastly overpriced for the hardware
Often I find apps don't mesh well together. Simply attaching documents to items doesn't work then attaching it through an alternative method works, overall quite temperamental.
Many irritating little features that I just don't encounter on an android.
I do think perceived intuitiveness comes with familiarity. If you're comfortable and understand Android OS, then moving over to iOS is going to introduce a learning curve. That would go both ways. Thanks for sharing.
@thrillhouse: Well said. iPhone and Android phones are designed on slightly different philosophies. Many users from the Android, Windows or Linux worlds find it hard to deal with the iOS file system which every app "owns" its own files. Export/import is needed to move files between apps. Aslo, as you rightly pointed out, old habits die hard, many (not all) die-hard Android users don't spend enough time to understand iOS, they tend to stick to what they knew. It's hard to get out of one's comfort zone.
Same guy that would set fire to his ass before using an iPhone is expert enough on iPhone to know why it's bad.
i have both phone, the one i mostly hate with iphones, can not sharing bluetooth files, picture files hevc hate that, customisation sucks.
I like having multiple persistent buttons ie back, home and multitasking. When I used the 6s for work I hated that the back button was in the top left so not ergonomic in that sense.
I mirror the comments below. It's insane to me there's no standaization with simple things like the back button across the interface, and why have it at the top left which is ergonomically the worst spot. And why when I go back into an app after closing it there's last thing I was doing and I have to cancel and press back on different areas of the screen - example if I search a contact and make a call, then end the app. I go back days later and it's still in the last thing I searched for so I have to cancel, go back, clear - there's no logic in that at all. It's the same old problem that's they've always been the anti tech phone and people who like them go with them for that reason is why the UI is not much different than it was in 2008. There's so so many things wrong with the UI it's unbelievable.
Is there a clear all background apps button yet?
One simple thing I dislike about iPhones is the inconsistency and impracticality of going "back" - as in, the "back" button. A lot of the time it's on the top left of the screen, which is way too far to reach when you're trying to use the phone in just your right hand (especially for the large models). It pretty much ensures that using the iPhone is a two handed experience.
On Android, the back button is handled by the system, and is either conveniently on the nav bar at the bottom of the screen, or a swipe in from any screen edge. Much better usability in this regard.
Majority of apps supports swipe from left edge of the screen to go back.
I'm always shitted to tears by not being able to directly access my files.
Maybe iPhones have added a simple file browser since my last foray, but Christ it shots me having to work around their refusal to just let you choose how to navigate your own data.
worldwide there is no chance of apple overtaking android. who gives a sh*t about the us market?
Every company trying to make money cares about the US market.
The mass of users youre taking about all use entry level phones.
Iphone made in China, Samsung claims to have moved manufacturing to other countries.
Manufacturing for the new iPhone and the old gen ones will move to India this year.
The first of the new iPhone 14s coming out will be out of Chinese factories - they will also not all be made in India.
You are right. It’s 14s and then they can potentially scale up to other models and types.
Will it actually be manufactured or just assembled in India?
I would assume assembled. They are only doing this for the Indian market to get around import tax.
Our models will still be made in China
Iphone penetration in India is said to be below 5%.
Xiaomi rules there. Still anything away from China is GOOD news!
The OP states something to be a fact, but does not cite any evidence.
For the world here's the Statista numbers: Android 74.17%, Apple 27.88%
https://www.statista.com/statistics/272698/global-market-sha….Android peaked about 4 years ago, Apple is doing better than it was then, but is still way behind.
In the US Apple actually held over 50% of the smartphone market Q4 2021 but has slipped backwards in the subsequent two quarters.
https://www.makeuseof.com/how-many-phones-apple-sells-compar…
Other countries are more into functionality and price. Americans have always been more into big name brands and celebrity endorsement, not just for phones but also for most "fashion" products. Probably why Shaq O'Neal thought he could help "sell" a Voice to Parliament to Australians, and most of the reaction to him was criticism.
Apple has always been 'strong' in its home market. America is all about the status symbol, which is the iPhone all the way. I can't afford food or health care, but I'm got a new iPhone!
OP didn't cite any evidence, but they were correct nonetheless. Title reads "iPhone Overtakes Android to Claim Majority of US Smartphone Market". Here is the citation:
Nike don't make the best sports gear or shoes by any means, but the brand is still everywhere. All about marketing.
Android doesn't really have a brand as its across so many different phone manufacturers.
Android 74.17%, Apple 27.88%
These numbers add up to more than 100%. I hope it's a typo and not a real stat. :)
The world now has more mobile phones activated than humans being alive!
iPhone hardware and software are both robust, feels purposeful and complement each other as well as works seamlessly across their ecosystem. On the other hand Android OS on any manufacturer still feels experimental, plus you have to rely on the manufacturer to package and release the security updates which can take ages (exception being google phones).
The only thing I am hating on iPhone and I suppose applies to Android as well is the monthly/annual subscription based model. The apps and games are useless or offer very minimal functionality when you download them.
What kind of apps do you pay for? I have never paid for any app since the iPhone was invented.
Sky Guide, lots of other astronomy apps, advanced file explorers, camera apps, photo editing apps and money other. They all seem to require monthly and annual sub. Sub works fine in streaming business but not everything else. Games are another example where monthly sub doesn’t work IMO. I am ok paying one off cost which used to be the case earlier but not anymore.
Sky Guide, lots of other astronomy apps, advanced file explorers, camera apps, photo editing apps and money other.
wait, do you pay for those apps monthly ? :O
Google Sky Map was one of the best apps back then and now I think Stellarium mobile version is good.Try it for IOS : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stellarium-mobile-star-map/id1…
On the other hand Android OS on any manufacturer still feels experimental, plus you have to rely on the manufacturer to package and release the security updates which can take ages (exception being google phones).
If you install a custom ROM, you might get even nightly-builds
@askbargain: hehe :D My first smart phone was a Sony Xperia X8, last official upgrade was Android 2.1 but I have upgraded it until Android 4.4 with custom roms until I sold it, learned a lot about Android and every minor update was like a feature update. These days even the major versions look alike without many new features.
Yeah not a fan of the subscription thing either, but it seems that's the way things are these days. I don't think this is an apple thing though. I'd assume those apps on android are the same?
@digitalbath: Actually it's the opposite. On iPhone, basically every apps wants a monthly subscription, where as on android it's either free with ads (most of the time) or a once off purchase.
I love it when apple throttles my iphone because I refuse to upgrade
https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/20/apple-statement-iphone-perfor…
I hate that apple treats the users like dumb dumbs
even with the throttle, which they dont do anymore, their old phones still outperform alot of current flagship androids in many areas.
Ok, more importantly his does this make you feel OP?
ABA (Anything But Apple)
I think it's not that relevant unless you feel tribal about brand loyalty.
I've never owned an Android, it has always been iPhone's from moving to a smart phone. I probably would have stopped using iPhone's once they went crazy pricing when they moved to the iPhone X, but the option of salary sacrifice made it bearable.
I've always been curious about moving to Android, but everyone knows that Apple is pretty good at ecosystem's and making it all work together for you, especially when you're a family as well, if you shared iCloud photo libraries, or AppStore apps, etc. Or whether they be in the extended circle of family members who use iMessage, there's definitely one aspect that keeps you. It's just how strongly it keeps you around.
Also for me, if I was like 10 years younger, an Android would be ideal for me. When it came to computers, I grew up using Windows, tweaking, customizing, whatever it is. But nowadays, I'm too old for that nonsense, I don't care if I can put triangular shaped icons on my desktop or home screen or whatever. That's pretty much why when Android fanboys harp on about customisation it doesn't mean that much to a lot of users who are time poor in their lives, they just want consistency and things that work. I mean yeah I like new shiny UI's, but lets be honest, no matter how shiny and new it is, you get use to it and bored of it in the matter of days.
I understand how great it is to be able to download a lot more apps on Android where they might not be available on iPhone, like location spoofing etc, but that's just something that either true Apple fanboys ignore, or simple Apple users like me have to live with.
On the developer end of the spectrum, I've done a few apps for both platforms, and let me tell you the fragmentation nightmare on Android extends to app development as well, and I personally feel like it's also what makes a lot of Android apps less polished, as it's a lot more time consuming to get right to support all the different Android releases (although I think that's changed now, as you can only submit updates targeting a much higher API target now). Furthermore, the ease of sideloading and the general user types of not wanting to pay for apps (this is how it use to be in the earlier days, not sure how it is now), it's a big disincentive to focus on quality apps on the Android platform as opposed to on the iOS world.
I think it's sad that a lot of popular Android phone makers decided to go down this whole premium route, and pretend like they're Apple. I mean yeah who wouldn't, if your fan base would pay that money right? But I always think it's great to have Android phones affordable as well.
I'm in the same camp. Was a big Windows guy growing up (this was before smart phones); PC building, overclocking, customisation etc. As I've grown and my priorities and interests have changed, I'm just after something that does everything I need out of the box.
Old me would have loved the Android scene; and I did own a Galaxy S2 way-back, rooted with a custom ROM. But wow, was an unstable experience. I even used to jailbreak iOS (when it was easier) and that too just became a headache for me. Just give me a rock-solid user experience, and let me do 99% of the things I actually need to do (like you said, theming the OS is a fun novelty but it's not necessary). I've got too much else keeping me busy in my life.
I'm also a lot more security-focussed today than I was when I was younger (I probably have a lot more to lose?), so not needing to overthink that has been nice.
Just wanted to say that iCloud+ offers private relay. It's not quite the same as spoofing your location, but it does hide your IP address when browsing.
Just wanted to say that iCloud+ offers private relay. It's not quite the same as spoofing your location, but it does hide your IP address when browsing.
FYI Google One comes with Google VPN, but only on their top plan.
Why does it matter?
iPhones are made in china
As it should. Get your shit together, Google.
As much as I hate Iphones with all their limitations and missing features I can understand the switch. Android phone Software still feels like it has been duct taped together in someones garage, inconsistent in quality and experience and poorly maintained. Having said that I won't be switching anytime soon unless Apple lifts their game feature wise and goes away from insane pricing..
Who cares?
Those without a real care in the world 🤷🏻♂️
👋 I do!
Tremendous support at Apple shops.
The Guru Bar - all free
Helpful enthusiastic staff.
Excellent warranty support too - many free repairs or refurbished replacements over the years.Online help as well - they’ll phone me from Ireland or Singapore at a designated time
Excellent warranty support too - many free repairs or refurbished replacements over the years.
I wish I could say the same about Samsung, but my devices haven't needed any warranty repairs or replacements over the years. Lucky me or unlucky you?
The warranty support is mainly good. We've had a few issues that needed fixing with iphones.
However, they refused to look at my son's ipad due to a tiny crack in the screen when the problem was obviously software related (bootloop type issue where the ipad became unuseable). Was really disappointed with their approach to that.
It isn't free, you are paying a very large premium in the purchase cost to cover any support.
This. Nothing is free.
credit where credit is due though. Apple have been very smart about this, they have realised most customers prefer to not know they are paying a very large support and warranty cost and have it hidden in the purchase price as opposed to others that are more open about costs and charging. The added benefit is many then see the good support and warranty as cool free extras when they are anything but free.
This is also one of the benefits of a monopoly in their ecosystem, they have no one to directly compete against with price so they don't have to worry about Samsung Iphone selling at $500 cheaper but with lesser support.
Samsung's flagships cost around the same though, with none of the support.
US market prefers iPhone. There’s a good reason to avoid.
We are a mixed marriage - wife has 13 pro. I bought an S22U. We travel remotely a reasonable amount and with the same carrier my phone picks up signal in fringe areas much better that the iPhone. To to extent that she will use my hotspot to get internet when hers can’t pick up.
Ironic that the base named use of the device is inferior.
There are very few Android manufactuers i'd buy. Sony, HTC, LG are almost non existant in Australia. Nokia is garbage. Samsung, Motorola and Google are about the only ones that aren't fully Chinese (and i appreciate Motorola is Chinese these days…). Apple is just easy if you aren't really into the Google ecosystem.