Despite commanding 85% of the global mobile market, Android has always fallen behind Apple’s iOS in terms of web usage… until now. New data indicates that Android usage is now higher than Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system.
The research, from Net Applications, measured web traffic across 160 million monthly visits.
In the past, Apple CEO Tim Cook has mocked Android by saying no one uses them despite high sales (particularly tablets). Last year he said, “I don’t know what these other tablets are doing. They must be in warehouses, or on store shelves, or maybe in somebody’s bottom drawer!”
This shows that Android users are getting more engaged with their devices, using them more and more.
However, the fact that Apple only has 12% of the global market indicates that individual users spend far more time on the web than their Android counterparts.
Will iPhone 6 boost traffic for Apple?
Android’s lead over iOS is only by the slimmest of margins at 0.43%.
As per Net Applications, mobile usage of Android increased from 43.75% in June to 44.62% in July, while mobile usage of iOS decreased from 45.61% in June to 44.19% in July.
With the huge lead of Android-based devices over iOS devices in terms of shipments, it was just a matter of time before Android mobile usage overtook iOS mobile usage.
The decline of iOS usage to the second spot may not be long-lived though, as Apple is expected to be releasing the iPhone 6 soon, along with the next-generation iPad which is rumoured to have a Touch ID sensor.