Chitika Insights has released a new six-month study that has found that iOS devices' mobile web share has grown 2% over the past two months while Android devices' mobile web share has decreased 2%. The data spans the six-month timeframe of May 27th, 2012 to November 27th, 2012 and includes devices like the Samsung Galaxy S III, the Kindle Fire HD, the Nexus 7, iPad mini, iPad fourth generation and iPhone 5.

ios vs android graph

According to the data, the share for iOS is at 67% while Android sits at 33%. Over the past six months, iOS has been hovering around 65% while Android hovered around 35%. The peak of Android's share was 40% in late August, which Chitika attributes to the strong sales of the Galaxy S III. That peak softened after the release of iPhone 5 and the new iOS tablets.

Chitika notes that Apple's significant advantage in tablet sales with the iPad and iPad mini is the biggest factor in the mobile web share dominance. Apple also has its' iPod Touch line contributing to its share, while Android's popularity and share is mostly due to smartphones.

The data is also suggesting that users don't switch between mobile operating systems, according to Chitika. They note that if their suggestion is true, Android manufacturers are competing with themselves while Apple is in no danger of a dwindling user base.

Top Rated Comments

mrsir2009 Avatar
164 months ago
Coz of all those moms with their $149 Android phones that they only use to make calls on ;)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SWPROX Avatar
164 months ago
I have an iPhone, a Mac and iPad mini,I love Apple,iOS and OSX.

But it is comments like this one which start unnecessary and useless flame wars,android is not 'ass' or something,it suits the purpose for million other who love it,not for me or you,similarly iPhone 5 is best for you and me and millions others,but similarly an S3 or Note2 is for millions others too.

One should respect others choices as well.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gubbz Avatar
164 months ago
I definitely fit into the last paragraph. I won't change, I've spent a fair bit in iTunes, music, video, apps. I use my iMac, iPhone and Apple TVs every day. iTunes is my digital hub with all my DVD Handbraked. Switching components of my setup to an incompatible system would be stupid and I certainly don't have the available cash to switch if they really started offering something 'magical' over Apple :S
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zunjine Avatar
164 months ago
Let's look at some of the criteria which I find are essential to choosing a phone:
(Both-emboldened; Apple only- [ ]; Android-plain text)


Colour:
Black, White, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, et cetera.

Memory Size:
8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB

Additional Memory:
N/A, 16/32/64GB Card Slot

Battery: Removable, Non-Removable

Screen Size (inches): 3.5, 3.7, 4.0, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.8, 5.0, 5.5 and more

Screen Res.: [1136x640, 960x640], 800x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080 and more

Vendor: [Apple], Samsung, HTC, Sony, Huawei, Lenovo, Motorola, Asus, LG, Google et cetera

2012 Flagship Phones:
[1], Several

2012 Mid-Range Phones: [0], Several

2012 Low-End Phones: [0], Several

Last Generation Phones: [2], n-2

If you don't like an Android phone or tablet, you can choose another one from that vendor's product range or change vendors and find a phone or tablet which is more suitable for you. Finally, if nothing suits you, you can consider changing operating systems

If you don't like a certain iPhone or iPad, you either have to wait a year or two for a future redesign or leave the operating system.

As for best, the best phone for me is the one which most easily helps the user to acheive their goal. For example, my grandma isn't going to notice the difference between an A6, a Snapdragon or an Exynos, but she can tell the difference between a 4" screen versus a 4.5" where the text can be enlarged and the buttons are that much more easily discernible.

iOS is one size fits all; Android has so much choice that your phone feels more tailor made.



Apple users are way more servile than their Android counterparts, because they have no choice; it's either Apple's way or the highway. Conversely, with Android, choice is abundant. If I don't like Google's way, perhaps I can try Samsung's way, LG's way or someone else's way.


Ah, the old mantra of choice.

People want choice, to a degree' and to an extent it does make them happy. But more choice and a greater sense of satisfaction - better user experience - are not linked in nearly so linear a way as you think. The graph you'd see if you plotted choice against satisfaction would be a sharp, upwards curve for a short distance (going from no choices to a few choices makes people happier) followed by a flattening (When people have enough choice, more choice doesn't help them much) and then a big drop off (people faced with too many choices are constantly confused and overwhelmed and feel that any choice they make is likely to be wrong).

You should Google the Paradox of Choice. There's plenty of good science on this topic. The main point is that being able to choose precisely what you want (a la Android) actually leads to lower satisfaction whereas having fewer options and simpler choices (a la iOS) leads to greater satisfaction.

And the customer feedback supports this too - it's not just theory. Apple's customer satisfaction scores are higher than anyone else in any sector they compete in. If you were right about choice and a feeling that a product was "tailor made" then surely Android users would be happier - they aren't.

----------

How android web usage can decrees, they selling more than ever. There is no decrees web usage ios nor Android. If they say RIM its believable. Even windows increasing (i know slow but it is increasing)

These figures are a percentage of the total, not absolute usage. There is far more web usage coming from Android devices today than in prior years, but as a percentage it's staying fairly steady compared to iOS.

----------

I'm sorry for you. You're neck deep invested to one company. That's why usually I stay/use format/software that are platform agnostic. I've stopped buying songs/movies/books on iTunes long time ago.

Songs, movies and books from iTunes work on non-Apple devices. Only Apps are iOS exclusive. I can play an album, watch a movie and read a book bought from Apple on Windows PCs, various PMPs, Android devices and other e-readers.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Will do good Avatar
164 months ago
Coz of all those moms with their $149 Android phones that they only use to make calls on ;)

Couldn't agreed more :D

In the US, lot of them are free.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechieGeek Avatar
164 months ago
I feel like the heaviest Android users would be those who root, and the first thing you do when you root is you install an ad-blocker which blocks any connections to servers serving ads. This would block ads in the browser as well as in apps.

I'd like to see stats from Akamai or Google Ads to see how the data compares :)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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