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7 Signs Of Android Faltering As iOS Strengthens
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Of the top five smartphones sold in the U.S. in the last quarter of 2011, the top three are all iPhones.
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012:
According to the growing numbers of data points, sales dominance of Android might be nearing its heights while that of iOS is also on the rise. It seems quite arguable that Android's best days are behind; however, there are quite a few reasons that make me think that Android is on the decline.
1: Early Android makers are falling: It was notable in April last year that Android was a boost to hardware makers that embraced the platform. The strategy of Android helped Motorola trim losses while HTC was on a rise. Today Google is trying to snap up Motorola Mobility even as it has fallen.
2: Apple becoming a giant in mobile revenues and profit: Apple is definitely sucking the most out of the mobile market. According to the Asymco blog, Apple has been the top handset maker in terms of operating profits for the past 13 quarters running. Apple enjoys 39 per cent of the market revenue and 75 per cent of the market profit share. But Samsung is an exception, Android competitors are beginning to fade away; when your product sales are declining and you are earning less on such products then you cannot grow a business.
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3: Top 3 smartphones are all iPhones: According to an NPD report, of the top five smartphones sold in the U.S. in the last quarter of 2011, the top three are all iPhones. Samsung’s Galaxy S II and Galaxy S 4G took the fourth and fifth spots. Could this be a problem for Android handset makers? Because the consumers are willing to buy used iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS on a reduced price rather than some of the newer Android handsets. Though there is a variety of low-cost Android models that compare well on price, consumers do not think they compete well on the experience. If they did, they would bypass Apple's older phones.
4: First-time buyers are picking up Android, but NPD did note that first-time smartphones buyers favour Android over iOS. The reason behind could be price but these people will be second-time smartphone buyers in the future and may be willing to spend more for an iPhone unless Android can give them a reason to stick to the platform.
5: There are still few apps hitting Android before iOS: Not every software shop can support every operating system. So I am not surprised that most handset makers will aim their apps at the largest audience possible. Very few developers bypass iOS even with Android sales growing fast over the past two years. They are simply making more money with iOS, so that is where the top-tier apps start out which in turn helps boost handset sales. I cannot find any signs of this changing either. Even for apps on both platforms, it often takes time for the Android version to see parity with its iOS counterpart.
6: No killer app for Android any more: Android used to offer the best support for Gmail service by far, but over time Google has brought the iOS to near parity. But still the best Gmail experience on an Android phone and free, exclusive Google Navigation runs amazing on Android, but it still is not a killer application.
7: Smartphone lock-in contest: There is still a smartphone lock-in contest going on. Moving to another platform could cost quite a few quids or more to replace apps. But there is a less of a lock-in to keep people on Android. The reason being that most of the heavily downloaded apps are free. Not all of them, but far more of the top Android apps are free v/s those in the iTunes App store. Without this financial barrier, its easier to switch from Android to iOS.
Tahir Zubair, EFYTIMES News Network
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Daily App Review: Klik For iPhone |
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