Sam Oliver
The latest quarterly sales data from Nielsen shows that while just 25.1 percent of American smartphone buyers in October chose an iPhone, that number ballooned to 44.5 percent in December. In addition, 57 percent of new iPhone owners polled in December indicated they bought an iPhone 4S.
Though Apple's massive spike in sales helped the company close the gap on Android, Google's mobile platform remains the most popular choice among smartphone owners in the U.S. Nielsen found that 46.3 percent of all domestic smartphone owners have an Android device, compared to the 30 percent share iOS holds.
But in October, before the iPhone 4S launched, Apple's 25.1 percent share among recent smartphone acquirers was more than 35 percentage points below Android. In November, the gap was narrowed considerably to less than 10 points, and by December, the iPhone had come within 2.5 point of Android.
Apple finished the year with a 44.5 percent share among recent smartphone buyers, nipping at the heels of Android and its 46.9 percent share.
RIM's BlackBerry platform continued a downward slide through the end of 2011, dropping from a 7.7 percent share among recent smartphone buyers in October, to just 4.5 percent in December. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile, Nokia's Symbian, and HP's Palm webOS combined for just over 5 percent of recent purchases.
Nielsen also found that as of the fourth quarter of calendar 2011, 46 percent of U.S. mobile consumers had smartphones. The number is growing quickly, and 60 percent of those who bought a new handset in the last three months chose a smartphone.
Apple's tremendous performance in December is a major turnaround from what Nielsen found last September, when the iPhone represented 28 percent of recent smartphone sales in the U.S. At the time, Android was continuing to grow and held a 43 percent share.
At the time, Nielsen cautioned that Apple's market share could "change quickly" with the launch of a new product. Only weeks later, the company introduced the iPhone 4S.
-m.jpg)
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
Sponsored Content
68 Comments
Just wait. In 7 months, the 4 will be free on contract, the base 4S will be $99, and the 5 will be out.
And the 3GS? It becomes Apples low cost off contract solution
Apple is just getting going here
There are many other smartphones on the market that have designs I like much better than the iPhone 4/4s. Yes, I preferred the physical build of the 3GS and original iPhone best. BUT, while I dislike the glass back of the 4/4s, I just cannot get myself to buy a phone that doesn't use iOS. Sure, I could easily give up using my iPhone and go back to a standard cell phone/computer combo, but I just don't see switching to Android.
No, I am not an Apple fanatic either. It simply seems that Android simply isn't as polished and easy to use as iOS. Don't get me wrong, Apple could really improve the iOS 5 notification panel by adding WIDGETS. But knowing Apple, we will not see any new widgets...instead we will be stuck with stocks and weather for the life of iOS 5. Come on Apple, let people build widgets for the notification bar/panel/whatever you call it.
Interesting to know, however the numbers close to product launches (especially delayed ones) aren't particularly informative about the long term trends.
Just wait. In 7 months, the 4 will be free on contract, the base 4S will be $99, and the 5 will be out.
And the 3GS? It becomes Apples low cost off contract solution
Apple is just getting going here
Not sure about the 3GS, as it's going to be really old by then & not a compelling choices (at least in the US), but I am excited about the 4 turning into the 'free' iphone. This will open it up to Sprint & Verizon to carry a free iPhone. It will be interesting to see what happens with iOS vs Android at that point.
...Come on Apple, let people build widgets for the notification bar/panel/whatever you call it.
Be careful what you wish for. I barely use any widgets on my Android phone. The impact on battery life and UI responsiveness can become noticeable with too many widgets. I do appreciate having the option though...