Nielsen Shows Android & iOS Running Away in Q2

Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are running away with the smartphone market, according to new data from research firm Nielsen. The company published updated charts this week showing that Android and iOS with growing momentum, leaving Research In Motion’s BlackBerry and everyone else with minimal smartphone market share in the U.S.

The company’s data was focused on total smartphone usage, as opposed to new sales. In that light, the company showed that in in June, Android had 51.8 percent of the market, while Apple’s iOS had 34.3 percent of the market. That left RIM with 8.1 percent, while everything else was fighting over table scraps.

The chart below shows that the data gets even more interesting when looking at just those users who acquired their smartphones in the three months leading up to June. With those users, Android had 54.6 percent, iOS had 36.3 percent, while RIM was relegated to 4 percent. The other platforms, including Windows Phone, were scrabbling for 5 percent.

Nielsen Chart

Nielsen also broke down usage by operating system, further broken down by hardware maker, as shown in the chart below. In that chart, we see Samsung with 17 percent of total usage on Android, and another 0.5 percent with Windows Phone devices.

This data contrasts with recent estimates that Samsung sold 50 million smartphones during the second quarter, while Apple sold 30.5 million iPhones. As noted above, Nielsen’s data is a measure of total usage, not sales.

 

Nielsen Chart

We should note that this chart also further shows RIM’s trouble. While the full quarter (shown in the second chart) shows RIM with 9 percent of the market, by the end of that quarter that usage had shrunk to 5 percent, and it was even lower when looking at only recent purchases. That’s worrying news for everyone who isn’t Android and iOS.

Nielsen also said that two thirds of customers are now opting for smartphones.

[via BusinessInsider]