Apple remains the U.S.'s number one smartphone maker, staying at the top of the industry throughout the holidays with nearly 38 percent of the U.S. market, according to a report released by comScore on Wednesday March 6. The company's success was helped by the launch of the iPhone 5 in September and the ongoing popularity of the iPhone 4 and 4s.
During the three month period ending in January, Apple was up 3.5 percent from October. Google's Android was the most popular smartphone OS during that time, holding 52.3 percent, but also saw a small decline. In the meantime, Samsung went up to a 21.4 percent market share: an increase of 1.9 percent. The Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 helped with the uptick.
Motorola had 8.6 percent and LG had 7 percent. HTC held on with 9.7 percent, giving them the number three spot despite recent setbacks.
No growth was seen from other smartphone OSes. Microsoft fell one percent to 3.1 while Symbian dropped one percent to 0.5. Blackberry also fell, dropping 1.9 percent to 5.8.
iOS users are more likely to buy items on their phones than those who use Android devices. Approximately 23 percent of people who use iPhones have bought something on the device, compared to 17 percent of Android users. ComScore mentioned in a blog post the way in which they felt app developers could best harness the Android and iOS platforms. They said that Android could draw more people interested in developing apps.
"This of course poses an interesting dilemma for developers who must consider whether audience size or engagement is the more important determinant of success for their apps," comScore stated. "Do they need to have a higher number of users who engage more frequently? A lot will depend on how they intend to monetize the apps."
