Apple's iPhone Accounts for 33% of U.S. Smartphone Market while Android Loses Ground

[Akshay Masand]

According to data from Strategy Analytics, Apple saw its iPhone sales grow by 2 million units while domestic sales of Android-based smartphones declined year over year in the second quarter. Android’s share of smartphones shipped in the second quarter of 2012 was 56.3% and although Google’s platform still has the majority of the market, its share went down from the 60.6% of smartphone shipments that Android accounted for in the second quarter of 2011. This loss proved to be Apple’s gain as U.S. sales of the iPhone increased from 5.9 million in the second quarter of 2011 to 7.9 million in the same period in 2012.

The data show that Android’s market share in the U.S. is peaking while Apple’s iPhone continues to gain ground. The Cupertino California company is currently expected to see its share of the market increase drastically in the upcoming months as everything point towards Apple preparing to launch their next-generation iPhone in the fall. Research in Motion’s BlackBerry mobile operating system also lost market share along with Android as it slipped from 10.5% in 2011 to 6.5% in the second quarter of 2012.

Overall, total domestic smartphone shipments were down 5.4% year-over-year over the span of the three months. That’s a major change from the 70.1% growth year-over-year growth the US. smartphone business saw in 2011. According to Strategy Analytics, the primary reason for slowly in the smartphone market is an economy that is volatile as well as maturing penetration of smartphones among mobile subscribers. The firm pointed out that to top it all off, the major wireless carriers are tightening their upgrade policies to improve profits, which negatively affects consumers.

The next-generation iPhone is likely to cause a large shift in trends in the market but we won’t be sure how exactly until it’s released. It’s expected to be released this fall with no announced date but speculation points toward it being announced on September 12 and being released on the week of the 17th.

Source: Strategy Analytics

[eZStaR]

You know it's sad when Apple still stands their ground against the competition with less than 4 phones (well 2, iPhone 4/4s) vs 7+ OEM's spewing out new phones every couple of months.

[H4CK3R]

Haha one more thing I can rub in the peoples' faces that love Android

[hank197857]

i'm sure many other sources say differently, even right here in the pages of mmyi.