We all love our Android devices. Yes, we would like to see faster updates on some phones, but other than that we really enjoy the Android platform. However, in an interesting study conducted of over 2,600 mobile phone users in Brazil, Germany, Spain, Britain, the United States and China the results show that Android only has 28 percent loyalty despite the plurality of manufacturers on which its OS is available.

The clear winner in overall mobile OS loyalty is the iPhone with an impressive 59 percent of users continuing to use iOS when they switch devices. Android fell under both the iPhone and BlackBerry loyalty which was pegged at 35 percent. Windows Mobile and Symbian were behind Android with 24 and 21 percent respectively.

Now the reason for this could be because of the apps available on the devices. With iOS there are currently over 300,000 apps available. Compared to Android’s 100,000 and BlackBerry’s 10,000, there is definitely a higher chance that iPhone apps will fit someones needs over Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile.

[Via Electronista]

27 COMMENTS

  1. Why didn’t you say anything about how users are far less likely to be purchasing their second Android device? Even the original Droid only came out a year ago. Wouldn’t that impact the data somehow? Hmm?

    Also, your last sentence is mangled. There “are” over 300,000 apps. Then it runs on. “More of a chance”. Sigh.

  2. What a bunch of BS. I used iOS for 3 years, used Android for 5 minutes, and realized I wasted 3 years with a horrible user experience of a phone. Apple users are brainfucked by Apple’s marketing..

  3. So what they really mean is ‘vendor lock-in’…

    As the article says, because of Apple’s push to drive App sales, people are obviously going to be hesitant to leave tens, if not hundreds of £/$/€ of virtual non-transferable purchases behind.

    Blackberry is a different situation, because using it is either a lifestyle choice or a decision by some corporate purchasing department.

    At the moment, Android seems to be the catch-all OS that seems to grab people leaving other sinking ships. Also, it’s worth pointing out that many of the mainstream Android handsets are less than 2 years old, ergo contracts are still in effect.

    We’ll see the truth when contracts lapse, upgrade deals come into effect and people get to make educated choices about what handsets to move to.

  4. I think your take on this is dead wrong. I believe that Android users are more open minded users on average and when asked if they would ever switch I think that sort of user would inherently answer, “Sure. if there was something better, why not?”.

    iOS users on the other hand… Well I think we all know what sort of user (generally speaking) that is. I think the ‘Koolaid / Cult’ references above say it best 😉

    Just my .02

  5. @DroidRox

    I’m sorry, I really have to disagree with you there. With my Galaxy S and the latest iPod Touch, I can give you two reasons the Galaxy S is terrible. The first being Android is abnormally buggy and unstable, the second being that android apps are really, really awful.

    Really! Get me a list of 20 android apps NOT originally ported from iOS that aren’t simply awful. I’ve never found a single racing game or FPS that even exists for Android!

    I’ve once heard a complaint that apps aren’t everything. They are. Apps are the PURPOSE of smartphones!

  6. @Bo

    really? apps are the purpose of smartphones? how about having an all-in-one device? smartphones are there to be able to pull all the things you use the most into one device. sure apps are a big part, but so is text, e-mail, web browsing, camera, instant messaging, games, apps, heck some even have flashlights. there are plenty of android apps that did not originate on iOS that are great. The main diference between androis and iOS is that iOS is a lot more simple to use, it is made for the “slower” people out there. android is more made for people that can use common sense and think on their own. So many people have iOS because there are so many dumb people.

  7. Ok, is the person writing this article a ios lover? I’m sorry but I disagree with this article. I have a N1 and I love android. I won’t be going to crappy apple or blackberry.

  8. if you ask me, lack of brand loyalty is a good thing. It means companies cannot rest on their laurels and that they will be more inventive to try and get an edge.

  9. @Bo

    Android buggy and unstable? Well, I have an HTC Desire running 2.2, and it’s probably never been rebooted. I couldn’t say the same for my previous iPhone. It missed calls, calls never made it through, dropped calls, outgoing calls going to void, and various other iOS instability issues. The UI is clunky and have no smart shortcuts. The phone looks like every other iPhone, and costs way too much. Android does what I need, out of the box, and I really do not need a lot of apps (which I DID need on iPhone). THose apps also had horrible integration with iOS… Android does things much nicer, and not to mention the tasking is immensely much nicer. I just get what I need done, without having to reload apps every second. Beat that, and surely I will look i nthe direction. I dont see apple iOS doing that, ever. Oh, and I can actually get ANOTHER android phone if I dont like this one.

  10. This article is full of crap. It just presented one reason. Loyalty to iOS? Of course! If you can install other OS in iPhone for sure this will not be the case.

  11. User for the android is selective and think to buy.
    The iOs does not admit to being outdated, they exchange cell phone knowing that the younger does not do the basics, calls!

  12. Android is definitely not quality. Their apps are crappy compared to iPhone apps because its OS is too sloppy and it has to be changed around for all the different phones.

  13. So, the conclusion being reached by this intelligent group is that iOS users are “dumb”. Okay then, problem solved. Next problem….

  14. I had to laugh out loud when I read some of these comments… iOS users are “slower” and dumb and therefore more loyal? Whatever it takes I guess to make you feel better… which is exactly my point. Doesn’t matter what phone you use, use it because it’s the perfect phone for YOU. So ditch the iPhone and love Android, or burn the Android phone and switch to an iPhone.

    Seriously if you care this much about who is loyal to what phone you use, then you have deeper issues then caring about phones.

  15. Loyalty to which platform is nothing. I’m a loyal android user as my Nexus One performed its tasks perfectly for me. If it failed to fulfill my requirement one day, I won’t hesitant to make a change. No matter the change is to another android phone, or ios phone, bb, webOs or any other phone as long as it works. As for now, I’ll stick with my N1 as it has better Notification, apps integration with OS, apps collaboration and widgets which is very important to me. Eye candy like UI opacity and speech to text or text to speech doesn’t really matter to me for now (might be important in the future) although it’s good to have.

    At the OS level, android is better than iOS (which matters to me but does not matter to most people). At apps level, iOS is way much better than android in terms of quality an quantity (which matters to most people especially games!).

  16. I have a motorola Droid and an Ipod touch. While I will never get an Iphone, I can honestly say I use my Ipod touch and the apps more on there than the apps on my droid. I got them both at the same time but, to me, the droid is slower, more touchy and just not as good as what I get on my Ipod for what I use them for. I would much rather just have my old nokia phone back, and carry around my touch, than to just have a droid.

  17. Just because Apple has more loyal subscribers does not mean anything. Why do I say this? That would have to be because Android is still surging in market share while Apple is loosing. So my next question is if Android users want to leave Android where are they going? Statistically it is definitely not Apple.

    Even Daring fireball’s John Grubber thinks ” Android is winning”

    check out the article here: http://getyourgadgetsgoing.com/2010/11/29/apple-users-are-more-loyal-but-android-is-winning/

  18. @Tristan

    John was being sarcastic. It’s ironic that you missed it.

    What you have forgotten is that while Android is “surging”, the entire smartphone population is growing. So there are first time people getting an Android phone (explains the surging – especially when the phones are given away), and it also explains how people can leave Android and go to another platform (two friends and a workmate have switched to iOS from Android in the past year).

  19. for me, the article is “wrong”!
    fanboism is worst thing ever happened! it blinds people to facts and stick with their own believes blindly or what have been told!

    for me i like android more than OS , because it is more open and helps me to make transition between one OS to another, more easily!

    if i feel the OS tries to lock me down with its technologies or force me to run specific software’s or go along in specific one business model, then am sorry.
    i prefer any OS for being open and free.

  20. I’m not surprise to read this. There’s a lot of smoke and no fire with Android. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Android phone but I feel like it still needs something to keep me from wanting to try Windows Phone 7 or go back to webOS. It still needs a killer app/function (tight integration with Google’s services doesn’t count) or needs to be more intuitive and flow organically (like webOS) and less like a powerful yet cumbersome desktop jammed into a small package (i.e., Windows Mobile).

  21. Don’t go too far in attribututing loyalty to inability to switch. Many iPhone users are so locked in via DRM that they can never leave or they’ll have to repurchase content. For some of them, it’s an expensive and disheartening proposition. There are a lot of good reasons to be loyal to a platform or OS, but Apple provides some particularly bad ones as well.

  22. There’s little point in weighing pros and cons of the individual OS against the fact of the matter that the Android market has a more broad reach than any other PDA phone OS available at the moment… With iOS you get… iPhone. Maybe iPad in the future. With Android you get Motorola, HTC, Samsung, LG, Acer, Dell, etc.

    Variety is Android’s strong suit. Developers also tend to be happy with the freedom of being able to release apps without being subjected to a board of approvals, provided of course that they determine not to use the Market for distribution. Suffice it to say Google’s strategy of “slow and steady wins the race” worked with advertising and email. Looks like it’ll be the same story with operating systems.

  23. Perhaps it is due to mixed reasons why people buy Android phones. Many it seems bought android only because iPhone wasn’t yet available on Verizon and Android was a substitute for them. My brother is one example. He bought an iPhone, but had to return it due to problems with AT&T. Then he bought a Droid (original) and “hated” it the whole time he had it, until he got one on Verizon. Never saw Android as anything but a substitute for what he really wanted. The things he wanted android offers, but not in as simplified of a format. He also had an earlier device than my DX, which may account for some of our different experiences. He is also far less technologically inclined/knowledgable.

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