Sometimes Apple news makes me want to bang my head repeatedly on the desk. I’ve been told to stop doing it by my doctor as I was risking a permanent groove in my forehead. The latest bit of tittle tattle that’s got me irritated is the surprise with which data from comScore that shows if you include iPad and iPod touch numbers, iOS is ahead of Android has been met.
Mark Donovan, senior vice president of mobile at comScore told the WSJ: “The finding is incredible because it shows that Android being the most popular smartphone is not the whole story…” That’s incredible? Did those guys just forget the iPod touch and iPad existed? I’d thought Apple’s iPad ads were pretty well inescapable. So why has the Android vs iPhone battle been consistently presented as a smartphone vs smartphone smackdown?
When people look at the numbers for Android and iOS, it really does seem like they prefer to just consider the smartphone part of the battle. That’s before we get into the fact that most of the numbers that analysts and commentators seize on are restricted to the US market. There’s a whole world of Android and iOS users out there and taking a snapshot of the US alone doesn’t really tell you that much about how well either party are doing.
Another foolish assumption that’s doing the rounds right now is that the iPad has slumped on the basis of the figures included in papers from its Samsung lawsuit. iPad sales prior to Q1 2011 had hit 14.7 million with the figures in the legal papers revealing that Apple pushed out 4.2 million up to March 2011.
Because some analysts suggested Apple would kick out 7 million in Q1, it’s being suggested that sales have struggled. But that’s ignoring that Apple only released the iPad 2 on March 11 so there will have been an understandable drop off in sales due to consumers waiting for the new model and the hangover after Christmas.
Android is undoubtedly a huge threat for Apple. The growing army of Android phones will undoubtedly continue to gain market share. It makes sense; Android has more phones with more choice than iOS offers. But Apple owns the tablet market right now and the iPod touch and iPad are still sales powerhouses.
Combine the three strands of iOS sales and Android has a much bigger mountain to climb. The Motorola Xoom was a disappointment and the Samsung Galaxy Tab is distinctly in the iPad’s shadow.
I’m not saying iOS is destined to be king of the hill forever but if you’re going to cheer for its rivals, get your facts right first. Smartphone numbers and particularly smartphone numbers in the US are part of the puzzle, they’re nowhere near the full picture. If Apple kicks out another iOS device – a retooled Apple TV or something new entirely – the landscape will become even more complicated. Oh joy…
