iOS building lead on Android: survey

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 19 July 2011 15:00

Your IT - Mobility

Apple's mindshare among smartphone buyers is pulling away from Android's, according to a new survey.

ChangeWave Research regularly asks people planning to buy a smartphone in the next three months which platform they will choose. While Android nearly caught up with iOS in the second half of 2010, Apple's iPhone is drawing ahead again.

In the December 2010 survey, iOS was nominated by 38% of would-be buyers, with 37% picking Android. In March 2011 that changed to 44% and 31%, and in the latest (June 2011) survey Apple has pulled further ahead with 46% vs 32%.

The real loser since Android's emergence has been BlackBerry, which previously accounted for around a quarter of consumer purchase intentions. It's now bumping along at around 4 or 5%.

Word of mouth may have a lot to do with Apple's success. 70% of iPhone owners surveyed said they were 'very satisfied' with their phones, compared with 50% for Android, 27% for Windows, and 26% for BlackBerry (the lowest proportion ChangeWave has ever recorded for RIM's devices).

Furthermore, 29% of Apple owners and 13% of non-Apple owners said the recent iCloud announcement would make them more likely to buy Apple products in the future.

ChangeWave's sample is heavily biassed towards the US market: only 11% of the respondents were from outside the US.