Apple’s iOS mobile operating system “outreaches” Google’s competing Android platform by 59% in the US, according to initial results of a first-of-a-kind study from comScore’s MobiLens service. Taking into account the total population of connected media devices, which included Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, the Apple iOS platform has a combined reach of 37.9 million as compared to an Android user base of 23.8 million when taking into account Android mobile phones and other connected media devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
As measured by the market research firm, the installed base of iPhones, averaged over a three-month period ending this February, “slightly exceeded that of iPod Touches,” while both of those were about 2x as large as that of the iPad. “Interestingly, among the 37.9 million consumers with access to the Apple iOS, only 4 million (10.5 percent) accessed the platform via more than one device,” according to comScore.
comScore’s data indicates that, contrary to popular belief, the consumer base for Apple’s iOS is not limited to “fervent” Apple “fanboys.” For instance, 14.2% of iPad users had Android phones, while Apple’s iPhone share among iPad owners, at 27.3%, is only slightly higher than its share among all smartphone subscribers (25.2%). At 17.5%, RIM’s Blackberry has the second-highest percentage among iPad owners, well below its smartphone market share of 28.9%. “Samsung, LG and Nokia are all significantly overrepresented among iPad owners as compared to the respective market shares of the smartphone market,” comScore noted.
“These data clearly illustrate the Apple ecosystem extends far beyond the iPhone,” comScore SVP of mobile Mark Donovan stated in a news release. “Though it’s frequently assumed that the Apple user base is composed of dedicated Apple ‘fanboys’, there’s not a tremendous amount of overlapping mobile device access among these users. This of course has significant implications for the developer community as they consider the market potential in developing applications for different mobile platforms.”
Examining age demographics, at 27%, iPad users skewed the heaviest toward 25-34 year olds as compared to 17.6% for the total mobile audience. This was also the case for the 18-24 year old and 35-44 year old cohorts. “This demographic profile was similar to that of the overall smartphone user base, indicating that the advanced mobile capabilities rather than the device itself might be primary driver behind this age profile,” comScore noted.
