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Even Without iPhone 5, iOS Still Gains Smartphone OS Share While Android Stalls

Apple’s delay in getting an iPhone 5 out the door hasn’t been a major negative for iPhone sales, according to a Nielsen Wire blog report Thursday. Nielsen’s May survey of mobile consumers in the U.S. found that 38 percent of cellphone users now own smartphones, and 55 percent of new handset purchasers in the previous three months reported buying a smartphone instead of a regular ol’ phone phone, up from 34 percent just a year ago.
The report notes that Android is the most popular smartphone operating system, with 38 percent of that 38 percent of cellphone users who have smartphones running Android devices, and Android also leading in the recently-purchased smartphone category, but Apple’s iPhone line and the iOS have shown the most growth in recent months despite the iPhone 5 no-show.
As recently as February, 27 percent of new cellphone acquirers bought Android handsets compared with 10 percent who went iPhone. However, a scant three months later, the figure for Android is still 27 percent, but the iPhone has zoomed up to 17 percent of recently purchased cellphones.
In terms of overall smartphone OS share, Android, as noted above, currently has a 38 percent of the market, but iPhone/iOS is now in second place, having breezed past RIM’s Blackberry now in third with 21 percent on a downward trajectory, and Windows Mobile a distant 4th at 9 percent.
Given evident massive pent-up demand for an iPhone 5, it will be fascinating to watch how the proportional pie is sliced once the iPhone 5 does hit the market.

This post was written by: Irfan Jam

Irfan Jam is a professional blogger, web designer and front end web developer. Follow him on Facebook