62 Percent of First-Time Smartphone Owners Chose Android Devices, While 25 Percent Opt for iPhones
RESTON, VA, July 25, 2012 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results from a study of first-time U.S. smartphone owners with insights from the Comscore MobiLens service. The study found that nearly half of feature phone subscribers who acquired a device during April 2012 switched to a smartphone, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from the previous year, as smartphone adoption continues its upward climb in the U.S. Among this audience, 61.5 percent of consumers acquired devices running the Google Android platform, with 25.2 percent choosing Apple devices and 7.1 percent opting for Microsoft smartphones.
“The growing number of smartphones available to consumers, accompanied by the decrease in price points and surge in mobile media content, have made smartphone ownership possible and desirable for many more Americans,” said Mark Donovan, Comscore SVP of Mobile. “Within the year, we expect to see smartphone owners become the mobile majority, a milestone that represents not only the evolution of the mobile landscape but highlights the enormous potential for marketers as these powerful, ubiquitous devices open new opportunities to reach a growing audience of consumers.”
Smartphone Adoption among Feature Phone Owners Surges Nearly 10 Percentage Points in the Past Year
In the past year, smartphone adoption has grown rapidly with nearly 110 million Americans owning a smartphone device in April 2012, up 44 percent from the previous year. Analysis of new smartphone owners found that 47.5 percent of feature phone subscribers who acquired a device in April switched to a smartphone, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from the previous year. Slightly more than half (50.7 percent) of feature phone subscribers in the market for a device chose to acquire another feature phone, with this audience witnessing a rapid decline in the past year.
Smartphone and Feature Phone Acquisition in Past Month3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+ that Acquired Device in Month*Source: Comscore MobiLens Custom Analysis
% Share of Feature Phone Audience
Apr-11
Apr-12
Point Change
Feature Phone to Smartphone
38.0%
47.5%
+9.5
Feature Phone to Feature Phone
60.6%
50.7%
-9.9
N/A**
1.4%
1.9%
+0.5
*Acquired phone in month refers to people who received a new phone during the month including people who purchased a device, who received a phone but did not directly purchase the device, etc. **N/A refers to mobile subscribers that acquired a new device within the month, but acquired device type was unknown.
3 of 5 First-Time Smartphone Owners Chose Android Devices
Among those feature phone subscribers that acquired a smartphone device in the past month, 61.5 percent chose a Google Android device, while 25.2 percent acquired an Apple device. Devices operating on the Microsoft platform accounted for 7.1 percent of acquired smartphones, while RIM represented 4.8 percent.
In comparison, among existing smartphone subscribers that acquired a new smartphone device in the past month, 54.2 percent chose Android devices while 33.5 percent preferred Apple devices. RIM accounted for 9.6 percent of acquired devices, while Microsoft represented 3.0 percent.
Smartphone Acquisition in Past Month: OS Analysis3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012 Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+ that Acquired Device in Month*Source: Comscore MobiLens Custom Analysis
% Share of Audience of Those Acquiring Smartphone in Month
Smartphone to Smartphone**
Google
61.5%
54.2%
Apple
25.2%
33.5%
Microsoft
7.1%
3.0%
RIM
4.8%
9.6%
*Acquired phone in month refers to people who received a new phone during the month including people who purchased a device, who received a phone but did not directly purchase the device, etc. **Including migration within same OS.
About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Contact:Sarah RadwanickDirector, Regional Product MarketingComscore, Inc. +44 (0) 20 7099 1784worldpress@comscore.com