Android Tops 50%, iOS Hits 30% in U.S. Smartphone Installed User Base

Research firm comScore today released the results of its latest survey of mobile phone users in the United States, finding that Google's Android and Apple's iOS continue to dominate the smartphone landscape.

The highlight of comScore's report is Android passing 50% of installed smartphone user base for the first time, grabbing 50.1% of the market during the three-month period of December through February. That marks a gain of 3.2 percentage points since the previous three-month period and a gain of 17 percentage points over the past year. But Apple's iPhone has also seen strong performance, gaining 1.5 percentage points over the previous period and 5 percentage point year-over-year to hit 30.2% of the market.

comscore smartphones feb12
Notably, Apple has also moved passed Motorola in overall mobile phone user base in the United States, with Apple's share growing by 2.3 percentage points over the previous three-month period while Motorola's share shrank by 0.9 percentage points. Apple now holds the third highest share of mobile phone user base in the United States, placing behind Samsung and LG.

comscore mobile phones feb12
comScore's data tracks installed user base rather than new handset sales, making it more reflective of real-world usage but slower to respond to shifting market trends than some other studies. The difference between those two types of studies was highlighted in a Nielsen report from last week which showed very similar number to comScore's data among "all smartphone owners" in the United States. But with the strength of the iPhone 4S launch, Nielsen's numbers showed that Android's 16-point lead over the iPhone was narrowed to 5 points when looking only at those who purchased their devices within the past three months.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple to Hide Selfie Camera Under Display of 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display. Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
iphone air thinness

iPhone Air Sales Are So Bad That Apple's Delaying the Next-Generation Version

Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information. Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen. Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
iPhone Satellite Feature

Apple Developing These 5 New Satellite Features for iPhone

Sunday November 9, 2025 6:07 am PST by
Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that the new features in development include: Apple Maps via satellite: Navigation in Apple Maps without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. Photos in Messages via satellite: Support for sending photos in the Messages...
maxresdefault

In-Depth iPhone Battery Experiment Pits Slow Charging Against Fast Charging

Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time. Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged. Another set of iPhones underwent...

Top Rated Comments

Taz Mangus Avatar
178 months ago
Android phones are given away for free like it's going out of style, have 10,000 different phones on the market and are on every carrier known to mankind. Who gives a crap if they have 50% market share. Their ecosystem still sucks, is ridden with spyware apps, get's the crappiest support from developers and gets zero love from Google in regards to actually updating the OS. They could have 99.9% market share for all I care and it wouldn't make any difference to how I feel about those kind of phones. I'm 150,000% satisfied with my iPhone 4, will buy the iPhone 5 and continue to buy each iteration of the iPhone after that. Nobody can compete with Apple :)

The funny thing is Google actually makes more money from iOS then it does from Android. Aw, the irony of it all.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
powers74 Avatar
178 months ago
I'm glad someone's keeping track of these numbers, 'cause I sure don't have time to.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Taz Mangus Avatar
178 months ago
Grabbing my popcorn...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NAG Avatar
178 months ago
It's a 3 year old phone. Just sayin.

And this is different from the companies that sell "new" smart phones running Android 2.2 how? At least the 3GS is still upgradeable.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swinnie Avatar
178 months ago
I have two android phones buried in a drawer... I suppose those count too.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dmunjal Avatar
178 months ago
Android phones are given away for free like it's going out of style, have 10,000 different phones on the market and are on every carrier known to mankind. Who gives a crap if they have 50% market share. Their ecosystem still sucks, is ridden with spyware apps, get's the crappiest support from developers and gets zero love from Google in regards to actually updating the OS. They could have 99.9% market share for all I care and it wouldn't make any difference to how I feel about those kind of phones. I'm 150,000% satisfied with my iPhone 4, will buy the iPhone 5 and continue to buy each iteration of the iPhone after that. Nobody can compete with Apple :)
That's what most Mac users said about the PC and Windows in the early 90s.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)