comScore today released the results of its monthly rolling survey of U.S. mobile phone users for the September-November period, finding that 18.5% of U.S. mobile phone subscribers are now using an iPhone, up 1.4 percentage points from the June-August period. Samsung continues to lead the market at 26.9% on 1.2 percentage point growth, while the remainder of the top five vendors all lost share.
Apple overtook LG for the second spot in last month's survey, and solidified its lead in the latest data on continued growth paired with a small decline by LG.
In looking only at smartphones, which now account for 53% of the U.S. mobile market, Android has continued to expand its lead and now holds 53.7% of the market. The iPhone 5 launch has, however, allowed Apple to continue its growth and the company now holds 35% of the smartphone market as the fall of RIM and Microsoft have increasingly turned the smartphone market into a two-horse race.
Notably, 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.
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more.
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date.
Keep reading...
Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features.
Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models.
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Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
We're only a few days away from 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...
Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others.
During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind.
Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe.
Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports.
CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...
Apple wants a triopoly. The issue isn't the handset, it's the ecosystem. It was the windows ecosystem, not windows that took down apple in the 90s (and just a little bit of anti-competitive practices).
'Divide and conquer' is what Apple wants, as well as extending the ecosystem beyond a handset to computer, tablet and TV is. Google/Android is less an issue in the fragmentation of handsets specs OEM and carrier add-ons. However Samsung is capable of taking on Apple directly, and Google with Motorola could if actually make a plan.
Apple wants an Amazon or a Windows/Nokia/Surface/xBox solution that dilutes the Samsung and Google threat. Apple is quite happy competing in a world where it gets the high spend 25% of the market, because no one can compete with it's efficiencies. If Samsung was unchallenged, it could attack the high end by subsidizing it with the (slightly less) low end, and have the mass to shift the power center of the 'mobile ecosystem' to itself. But with a bevy of competitors at the low end of a triopoly or greater space, no one ecosystem can establish that broad base lever point to lock in the long term.
In other words... sucky cheap phones/pads/computers drive customers to change, not upgrade to less sucky. Apple wants to be that change.
The more the better for consumers, it's competition that forces companies to better themselves.
Agreed. An example is the iPad Mini. Would probably not exist if it weren't for competitors in the marketplace - even Eddie Cue's email illustrates that.
That's a lot lower than I thought... Most anyone I see walking around on their phone has an iPhone.
That's because iPhones are consistent and recognizable, while Android phones are all just clumped together and no one knows the difference at first glance.
It's part of what makes these "ANDROID has more marketshare than iPhone!!!1!" articles all the more misleading.
