There is no denying that iPhone rules the smartphone world of today. Apple just sold 5.2 million iPhones last quarter, a 626 percent increase from the previous Q2. The iPhone OS accounts for 47 percent of smartphone request according to AdMob. Apple also claims 32 percent of the handset industry operating profits. The numbers are impressive, but how long can iPhone remain at the top?
We could argue for hours on all sorts of different metrics, but I think the most important leading indicator is developers. Apple owes much of its iPhone success to the App Store and the community that sprung up around it. Everyone has seen the massive “There’s an app for that” campaign. Recent numbers suggest there are 65,000 apps that have been downloaded over 1.5 billion times.
With all the success that iPhone has enjoyed, would you believe we might be past their tipping point? Check out the following stats provided in a Flurry analytics report from July.
I think we know where this is going.
The chart compares the number of new projects (apps) that are being developed for iPhone and Android. Since the beginning of the year, Android has more than double its share while iPhone has declined each month. As time goes on, more developers are choosing to bring their apps to Android and I see no sign of this stopping. With every major US carrier ready to jump on the Android bandwagon, we are likely to see this trend accelerate.
With all the recent news, is it really that surprising some devs are ready to bail on the iPhone? No one understands the App Store approval process. The FCC is investigating Apple’s rejection of Google Voice. Loyal customers are unhappy. Even Palm has filed a dispute against Apple for blocking the Pre from iTunes.
If you want to know where iPhone is headed, just talk to their developers and they will tell you. The bloom is off the rose.
[via Mashable]
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Taylor Wimberly
Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He loves playing with all kinds of gadgets, but most importantly cell phones. His other hobbies include cooking (BBQ hero!), politics, football, and watching every MMA event possible.
9 Comments
apple is a microsoft typed company ,
they only have in mind more and more money .
thats why people are seaching for an alternative
Awaiting for more elaborated games… Good new!
Whoa, there… now, I’m a huge, huge fan of Android and spending a lot of my time now doing development. But I think it’d be reaching to extract too much from this particular graph. Android penetration has been gradually improving, so it’s inevitable the Android would see some bump – if for no other reason that more developers now have phones to actually try, which is big motivation. Meanwhile, some natural slowing would be expected given how oversaturated the iPhone market is.
Even as an Android fan, the range of apps for iPhone and installed base each dwarf Android. And while I’m personally disturbed by some trends with iTunes, I don’t think there’s any clear indication it’s scaring off developers – time will tell. One important issue is that, while Android bests iPhone in some categories and has its own unique developer interface, the iPhone developer APIs remains more mature in support for processor-native code, audio, 3D, and video – period. It’s odd to me that so much has focused on politics or even device penetration, when there are certain apps that simply aren’t practical until those tools improve.
I only bring this up because I think Android has real potential in all these areas, and you can throw a real party once we get to that point. Let’s not declare Mission Accomplished just yet.
Yeah. I love watching Android gain market share, but let’s allow ourselves to think that the race is won. It obviously isn’t, and let’s keep pushing the envelope to show what this platform can do.
Save for an unlikely shift in Apple’s philosophy, Android market share will almost certainly outgrow iPhone, because Apple isn’t likely to release a $10 iPhone. It may take a few years, but it’ll happen.
Apple doesn’t seem to understand, that to be ubiquitous you can’t be exclusive.