It's well accepted that Android outranks iOS as the most prolific operating system. In fact of almost a billion "active"... and I stress the use of the word "active" users... over half are Android. Why is it then, that despite the marketshare superiority, are Android users less likely to use their phone as a "smartphone" than iOS users? Why is overwhelmingly more web browsing done using iOS? despite the fact there are less iOS users.

Even more surprising is the fact that Android users are substantially less likely to use Apps on their device. This is remarkable given the typical Android Fanboy theory that a key advantage of Android is the open system for sourcing Apps... so they can source Apps more freely... yet they don't use them LOL...  

In the past this could be put down to poor device performance. However most people accept there are some very good Android phones on the market now, especially some of the Samsung models. So why are Android users so much less likely to use their device as anything more than a regular phone or a book reading device? Remember, this is not about how much "you" use or don't use your device, this is about the general Android community. Quite the conundrum...

RELATED LINK 1 HERE

RELATED LINK 2 HERE

[ Last edited by  TonyToro at 8-6-2013 18:10 ]

1.) There's huge fragmentation in the Android ecosphere. Owners are using different versions which have different features and which makes it difficult for developers to have a specific set to target. This has been a problem with Android since day one.

2.) Android works on both smartphone and feature phones (dumbphones). A billion users aren't all smartphone owners.

3.) Google says that there are 1.5 million Android activations per day. What they don't say is that this includes contract renewals of users who are already Android users. 1.5 million activations a day equals 547.5 million per year. Even adding iOS into the mix, when you run the numbers and remember that both platforms have been around since 2007 and 2008, by now every person in the world should be using a smartphone. Obviously that isn't true.

4.) Returning to the chart showing Android's fragmentation, 2.3 Gingerbread was really the first version that could really compete with iOS. 2.2 Froyo and below were unresponsive messes. I know; my LG phone uses 2.2. Phones with 2.2 are still being sold as entry level smartphones.

5.) Looking at app revenue (not app quality), iOS makes up 74% of all app revenue on the market which includes Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. iOS developers make 37% more money than Android developers. And for every $1 customer dollar spent on Google Play, $2.45 is spent on iOS.

The conclusion here is that while Android has more market share, iOS makes much, much more money for developers. iOS developers have less of a range of hardware (two processors: A4 and A5x, two resolutions) and software (iOS 1-4, changes in iOS 5, changes in iOS 6) to target for. And iOS users spend more money than Android users.

Current android OS on my phone sucks it keeps crashing since last time I updated it and no way to truly go back to original oe as my phone isa Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE 4G which seem to be some limited edition and not able to find the original system and put that back on the phone as that was more stable than any of the new updates they gaven.

LOL no no...

so any explanation then Bro? just curious...

Don't have specific data, but in general the iPhone is a "premium phone" given it's high price point. This attracts wealthier users that are more willing to pay for apps. Android phones, except for the premium Samsung phones, are owned by those who don't have as much disposable income to waste on apps/games. If I had to guess, I would say the newer premium android phones would be closer to iOS numbers, because like Freelancer said, the majority of android phones are crap.

iOS also includes the iPad which kills any android tablet and i'm sure boosts app $ and active numbers. There are a lot of games that are on iOS that aren't on android yet, and the cross of playing on iPad/iPhone is a definite selling point, to be able to play when you're not at home. These games make a ton of money.

Just my opinion and summarizing what I've read in the past, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Without reading the sources, here are some theories:
iOS might use the brouser more to access updates and content, while Android phones/apps use built in updaters that don't launch the browser.  That would dramatically cut the ammount of reported browser use.  I know on my iPhone several apps launch the browser at various times.

Android phones come with many more pre-installed apps.  iOS comes with only a few, so people are driven to DL the ones they need.  And the Apple store is much better advertized and supported by third party websites listing the top apps.

Latly, but related... Android users do not update their OS as often as iOS users (as is required by Apple), and with most iOS updates comes a round of app updates.  This updating might be included in the app DL statistics.

good points. Doesn't explain the overwhelming numbers but good points just the same. I have no idea about the browser activation on Android but I would imagine most of the Apps that activate the browser on an iPhone do the same on Android?

after reading the articles more, I do think that most of it is explained by the games on iOS rather than Android. Games take quite a long time to build and adapt for a new platform, so it's not as simple to have a game on all platforms(ios, android, windows 8, blackberry), as it is for a productivity app or news feeder app. And because of this, game developers flock towards iOS because of the $ spent, reliability of iOS software and less range of hardware.

There is only a certain amount of work, news, emails..etc someone can do with their phone a day, but you can spend all your free time playing a game.

Personally, I used to have an samsung s3 and was going to upgrade to the s4, but decided on the iphone 5 so that I could play clash of clans to and from punting and work. I started clash of clans on the iPad, and it needs to be tended to while not only at home so decided to make the switch. I'm sure i'm not the normal but I bet there are enough people out there to push the averages up of in app usage, considering there is a tendency for game developers to flock to iOS.

[ Last edited by  vinny5443 at 10-6-2013 13:12 ]

I think the second article actually goes a long way towards answering your question

From my own observation the picture is definitely skewed by iOS being used for so many games.  Apple seems to be winning the entertainment business.  
From further observation the sort of games I see android users playing are more likely to be offline games - like candy crush - rather than online games that result in online traffic.  This will significantly skew the data by tracking the easily trackable online traffic and missing out on the offline phone use.  

But I think it's important to question the premise "a smart phone is a better smart phone if the user spends more time using it".  That reminds me of how websites used to log the amount of time spent by each visitor as their key metric ... but google set itself the goal of REDUCING average time spent on their site.  Likewise I would see a good smartphone as being one that accomplishes more tasks, but does so requiring less time - and definitely fewer browser views, not more!  

Comes down to what do you want to use it for

... and if a phone gives the user what they want, that's a good thing even if the user only wants a simple phone that can easily back up the contacts and occasionally read emails ...
... and if it does all that at a reasonable price, without gouging profits, so much the better.  

My own view is that a "better" phone would be one that handles high-end tasks 'better' while also allowing making low-end tasks simpler and more intuitive, for those who want a phone that serves them rather than enslaves them.  And from that perspective Apple's celebration of a metric that shows iOS users spending more time and more money on their phones seems a very dubious selling point!!  

It looks a bit like they're grasping to find ways to present the data in a favourable light, and that makes me wonder why they don't spend their money and time talking about selling points that measure the actual utility users get from their devices?

Great points, but games like candy crush are online games that can be played offline when you do not have service, which now a days is not very often. I do believe that candy crush is just as popular on iOS as it is on Android, but there are definitely more options for games on iOS.

If i'm understanding you correctly, Google has a goal of reducing the average time spent on their site for the sole purpose of providing the answer to one's question efficiently, not to use their website for less searching or information. I'm not sure that this translates to a portable device where tasks are mostly restricted by screen size. I think almost all tasks that can be done on a smartphone are more efficiently done with a smartphone, except creating content like excel spreadsheets or powerpoint presentations etc.

I think that what apple is great at is showing the possibilities that the smartphone can be used for, with all of their commercials they used to have that featured the things that you could do with a smartphone.

Watching Apples WWDC conference this morning, over 93% of iOS users are using iOS 6, while the majority of android users are still using gingerbread (i think 37% now) as Freelancer pointed out, which was released in 2010 while Jellybean(around 30%), the latest android software, is only the second most popular operating system.

At least in my naive tech mind(it seems that developers think the same thing), having the latest software gives you the most reliable software available. This allows you to have more trust in your smartphone to accomplish everyday tasks leading to more use.  Things such as mobile banking, stock trading, bill paying, being a primary news source, a mobile tv stream, shopping, scanner, business card organizer etc.

Like I said above, I do believe the newest smartphones with android software are on par with iOS and the iPhone, but until Android figures out the update issue, the numbers are most likely to continue to be like this. The problem is that there are so many different hardwares (screen size, processor speeds), as mentioned in article 2, it's hard to build universal (across all android platforms) apps that looks good and that is easily updated.

I think we are all making some assumptions. Greater use on average for iPhones does not of itself automatically mean it is a better product. Similarly longer browsing time does not necessarily mean an inferior product. I don't want to spend any more time than I have to "searching" but I am happy to spend as long as I feel like, while being entertained or informed.

I think the stats relating to not upgrading to the new Android OS are somewhat unfair because many of those phones running the old OS are just terrible. Changing anything, especially the OS is problematic. I don't think the same applies to most of the newer Android phones, the seem much better products. Why their use as a smartphone is also somewhat limited is the biggest surprise. In fact if you narrow the question down to Samsung phones and tablets only... the question is even more difficult to answer.

Accepting that the Galaxy S3 & S4 are capable of matching an iPhone in processing and browsing, why aren't they used accordingly as often?

One theory is that their price and availability (free on many plans and numerous 2 for 1 deals) means a substantial number of those in use are in the hands of people who don't have a need for a Smartphone, while most iPhones are in the hands of someone who specifically wanted a smartphone with all it's features.

Here is a related thought.  I know many people here in China using older "smart phones" with Android that don't have data plans.  Or they use Pay as You Go plans.  So most of their online use is over WiFi.  People who shell out the money for the iPhone almost always get a data plan.

Is use over WiFi included in the use statistics?  And do the Chinese content sites (video/music) report their usage for these comparisons?

Connection by EDGE, 3G, LTE or wi-fi all count. The type of connection to the internet makes no difference as you're still connecting to the internet. Stats for each device can (and are) pulled by servers serving up the web side, hence how stats on usage is gathered.

Maybe I'm not understanding your answer...

What I mean is that in China a lot of people seem to spend their time on their phone watching Chinese TV programs or movies.  Second only to texting I would say.  So one or two apps covers 80% of their phone use.  However, this is still something they couldn't do on a regular phone, so you should be able to say they are "using" their device.

But are these servers (sharing possibly copyrighted material) sharing their usage numbers?  Is the data flow being measured at the pipeline by a third party?

I think it is simply a matter of time.

It has only been since the Galaxy S4 that a sizeable portion of users and reviewers have noted that it may be the better smartphone.  Yeah, the S3 got everyone looking keenly at Samsung as an iPhone killer.  But it was the S4 that blew it wide open and allowed Samsung to convincingly argue (with tons of agreement from users and techy-magazines) that it is the best smartphone on the market.

But the S4 has been around for just a couple years...  iPhone and iOS have dominated this marketspace for 10 years.  It takes time to move a mountain.......

Like all market research, a sample size is taken that (hopefully in a best case scenario) represents the greater entire market. The statistics on Android use aren't taken from literally every single webpage and server in the world. It's an extrapolation taken from some and applied to the whole.