Apple’s iPhone still best-selling smartphone in U.S., Android catching up, analyst says

By Zach Epstein on Jun 8, 2011 at 4:09 PM

mobile June 8, 2011 at 4:09 PM

In a note to investors Wednesday morning, Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt said Apple’s iPhone is still the best-selling smartphone in the U.S. despite being almost a year old. The analyst says he recently spoke with 50 U.S. retailers about smartphones, and he has concluded that Apple’s iPhone still sits at the top of the pile in terms of sales. McCourt does note, however, that Android phones are quickly gaining ground. He says collective sales of Android phones at Verizon Wireless are “on par” with iPhone sales, though he thought the iPhone’s lack of 4G LTE compatibility would have caused it to fall behind Android phones. “We had assumed that Verizon’s 4G launches would slow down iPhone demand, but that was not evident in the stores we spoke with,” McCourt wrote. “Overall, we believe iPhone momentum remains strong at Verizon.” The analyst also states that iPhone is still the No. 1 smartphone at AT&T, though sales of Android devices are “quickly catching up.”

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116 Comments

Anonymous

Show me one other phone that comes within 25 million , just one. Didn’t think so.

Anonymous

Samsung Galaxy S
ddd

Samsung Tocco Lite (s5230) – not smartphone – nearly 50 mln

Emperor_was_a_jerk

I looked on the websites of all the carriers and couldn’t fine “Android” phone. Plenty of phones that run the Android OS but no single phone named Android.

Tis is like saying “More cars are sold than the Mustang”.
Anonymous

Right on cue… Some analyst at some investment firm (which owns millions of shares of Apple stock) comes out and pumps up iOS products an downs Android in order to continue the joy ride of Apple stock…

Shocker
Lester

who gives a shit, other analyst says
Anonymous

That seems pretty sad actually. When all the Android phones combined are just on par with the iPhone. And how many people are holding out with the iPhone 5 looming? I’ll be interested to see the numbers after that’s out.
Anonymous

Is this article based on data or on what people called said? Wtf kind of article is this?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Omega-Man/100000590156587 Omega Man

File it under useless drivel and cannon fodder for ifans…

Anonymous

I’d be interested to know how Apple managed to sell more devices with the iOS platform than were sold with Android when Android had 36% market share and iPhone 26% as measured in April 2011.

And if you compare those numbers with 2010, when in April Android was 12% and Apple 25%, I’d go so far as to say someone is making up stories.

I wonder why? Could it be Apple is feeling the heat?

The problem with being at the top of the pile is that its a long way down. Just ask RIM.

Don’t get caught holding Apple shares….
Grog

Let me get this straight. It’s not fair to compare iOS to android OS because iOS has more devices, but it is fair to compare iPhone vs android phones even though android is available on more carriers with multiple manufacturers??

Fandroid losers never cease to amaze me.

Ps it’s not Apples fault that android tablet sales suck

Anonymous

This is so ridiculous. Of course iPhone is the leader is sales in the US (for now). It is an iconic brand and it competes with no other phone in the iOS ecosystem. If you want an Apple smart phone you have no choice but to buy an iPhone. That’s it. The larger question is so what? If you’re a maker of Android smart phones you first have to get a customer to choose that OS — the odds are 3/5 they will do so. You then need for that customer to choose your device over 3-5 other brands. If they do that it is likely you are making 3-5 Android based phones. They will buy just one.

For Apple supporters to thump their chests about iPhone besting Samsung Galaxy S, HTC EVO, Motorola Atrix is beyond short-sighted.

LaZy_GeNiUs

Smartphone without unlimited data is pointless!
Anonymous

The iPhone will always be on top. It’s simply the best there is. When you droid idiots get that user experience beats specs then you’ll understand why no one would choose a droid over an iPhone. I only have a droid x because the iPhone wasn’t on Verizon at the time, and I’m not leaving Verizon.

When the iPhone five comes out I’ll be happy to switch to a superior phone. All it needs is a four inch screen and swype and it will blow everyone even further away than it already has.

http://theiphonefever.blogspot.com/ Michael Schwartz

Yes, this is exactly why it had to copy all the features from Android 1.6.

Considering how many features it still lacks, it’s almost a dumb-phone.
http://theiphonefever.blogspot.com/p/idont-list.html
Anonymous

And yet, Samsung Galaxy S2 is selling better than iPhone 4 in UK right now. Also, one has to take into account the fact that iPhone gets more advertising than all other phones combined (although eventually it’ll kill it for people will get fed up)

Beendoingthisforaday

The GS2 is an amazing phone (come to the US already), but was also just released. I’m assuming the next iPhone will be on par, except for the large screen (maybe one day). Do you know how much better the GS2 is doing?

And the average user eats Apple’s adds up. Look at the iPod. I’ve been a big apple hater most of my life, but I enjoy their TV adds and little vids on their site. They have an amazing marketing team. Android’s adds can be down right horrible (Xoom).

http://twitter.com/TuckerPeterson Tucker A. Peterson

Is the idiot the person who chooses their own device based on what they like or the one who feels people should buy a device based on what others say (with UPCOMING features available to everyone else 3+years ago)?
Tjoannou2001

I had an iphone 4 and now i am getting a galaxy s2. I have never used android before but for me even when iphone 5 comes out i still think the s2 with what it haves will be a good alternative to have. You are allowed to your opinion but when iphone 5 comes out i am sure Samsung or HTC will have something better coming out. Peace out

http://twitter.com/TuckerPeterson Tucker A. Peterson

It’s going to be truly impossible to compare device to device when it comes to Apple vs anything. Apple has one phone and the other OS have multiple. Android vs iPhone is comparable because iPhone is the only true representative of the iOS (unless they are lumping in tablet iOS sales as iPhone sales then it’s bullshit) and Android, Windows etc are spread out amongst dozens of devices.

Honestly who gives a fuck? Buy the device/OS you like and that works for you and your lifestyle. If you are actually using other peoples opinions and analysts predictions to purchase then you are a dumbass.

http://twitter.com/Kevniv Kevin N

Awesome post
http://www.facebook.com/people/Omega-Man/100000590156587 Omega Man

Best post here!

http://twitter.com/Kevniv Kevin N

spoke to 50 retailers?! Wow thats a good study! LMAO
Beendoingthisforaday

Developers probably care who is doing better and where they can make the most money. Currently iOS is way beyond Android.

Just to help some of you out that seem to want this…

Going by sales (Profit wise, iOS is obviously ahead of everything combined)

iPad > Any single Android tablet or them all combined
iPod Touch > Anything Android has to offer, which is nothing yet
iPhone 4 > Any single Android phone, combined they seem to fluctuate from being slightly more/less or even
Apple TV > Any Google TV device alone or combined

In total devices out there currently

iOS > Android

In the future Android will most likely catch up, but that is the future.

The biggest issue with anyone trash talking iOS as an ecosystem and how it’s not fair to compare it to Android is that when you purchase/download an App it should work on all of your chosen OS’s devices.

For the most part apps work across all iOS devices to some degree. So a dev can make an app, release it and it is available for use on 200+ million devices worldwide.

On Android, many many many apps do not do this and are only for phones or tablets, Android 1.6, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1 etc, only available on certain oem’s devices (Xperia Play), released as exclusive to different markets (Amazon, Carriers, OEMs), and now we are seeing exclusives for Tegra chips and the various other chip makers.

So an Android dev either has to work extra hard and include as many options as possible, or go the easier route and pick a oem, carrier, device, version, etc to optimize their apps for. Which is obviously going to narrow the total number of devices and customers that they can reach.

Obviously with XDA and custom roms and whatever else, people are getting around these restrictions and hopefully Google makes this less of an issue in the future, but for now, it is happening.

Add in that Android users as a whole don’t spend as much cash on apps, where are devs going to go first?

How many well made apps (especially games) are released on Android first (not co-released)?

So for the average consumer, this article is useless. But for devs and those of us that want to know this useless info, it shows where the market is growing or not. Currently it is still a better choice to go with iOS.

Apple has a solid group of consumers and it’s making truck loads of cash. Once the iPhone is on Sprint/TMO, they will make a bit more. Devs are making a decent amount as well, I’m assuming by the numbers. Users are benefiting from receiving apps first and sometimes (not always) a better quality version of cross-platform apps.

Android’s marketshare is growing and growing in the phone segment, but who is benefiting from this? OEMs are making money, but they are splitting lower profits combined then what Apple is doing and devs are making less money (add-supported or not). Users get to deal with the joy of figuring out if the latest apps work on their new devices or not.

When picking a phone or OS, you should look at what you need out of it. For most it is ease of use and app selection. Different form factors are even becoming less of a reason, looking at all the new phones coming out that are basically the same, just slimmer/larger screens.

If you go for customization, well Android obviously wins. But jailbreaking iOS gives a lot of options as well.

As iOS improves, they differences will decrease even more. While there is no sign that the “fragmentation” of Android is going away. Version number may be becoming less of a problem, but now all the OEM/Hardware specific issues are growing.

Regardless of which side you choose, this article was for making all of us clickity click on it =)

I never understand all the argueing one way or another, do we really want everyone using the same phone/os/carrier/oem?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Omega-Man/100000590156587 Omega Man

Interesting diatribe, but I do not agree with your assessment or your conclusions. The system that gets the job done, whatever that may be at the time, both efficiently and economically, is generally the best system, relatively speaking.

Keep in mind that these mobile computing devices are Tools not just Toys (some more than others IMHO).. They are meant to get things done for the end user. One platform offer choices and inherent customization to boost efficiency and competes economically based upon a competition model and the other (mentioned in this blog post) offer a more singular solution and a more controlled solution. What is best is what works best for your needs. Your needs are probably not my needs. My needs are not what apple determines them to be so, I choose to seek other solutions for my needs. That works for me, therefore for me that other solution is the Better of the Two given options. Having choice and options are generally good things for both consumers and the industry in general. Choose what you will and enjoy it, I say. I know that I will. ;P

Beendoingthisforaday

Even though you disagree with me, I agree with most of what you said.

I was a G1 user from week 1 and am currently using a Nexus S. But will most likely be switching to the next iPhone.

Never have I felt any of the customizations on Android allow me personally to get anything done quicker then an iPhone counterpart. My GF and the majority of the people I work with, interact with, have iPhones, so I’ve had quite a bit of experience with them, although I don’t use one myself. Jailbreaking might be needed to allow some extra functions, but the same can be said for a lot of the customizations that people want from Android.

For the average user, which is probably 99% of users, the iPhone is easier to use in most cases. Widgets are one of the few things that might keep you from having to open an app, but even they aren’t that amazing and the cons of using them can outweigh the pros in many cases.

As I said above, the fact that apps are now being made exclusive or “fragmented” in so many ways, makes them much more difficult to use. Jane Doe shouldn’t have to go online, search for where an app is being sold, then figure out how to get it to work with her phone, this after seeing a friend with it. You should just be able to get it in one place. Of course a lot of geeks will argue this, but we know how to do all that with ease.

I agree that we should all use what we want and I find it silly that everyone seems to have a need to justify their personal choices. In real life with real human interactions, I’ve always seen people have interest about another OS or phone when they come across it. Never have I heard someone go OMG you have one of those, what a mistake. We seem to loose those civil interactions when going online and swinging the epeens around.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TLOJWPRZXV3YMCGFPEQDLCYRFA Mets Fan

Stopped reading after the gigantic error it is not “slightly more or less” than the iPhone, Android phones sell 2-1 over iPhones and have been leading the way for a long time.

Wow, I love how you qualify having options and not being tied to a single device for the rest of your life as a bad thing. It is not “fragmentation” it is separating the OS and the device so that innovation can take place. If we followed the same model on PCs as we are for iPhones we would still be running on 386 Processors (well RISC based equivalent of those things).

if you want to worship at the Apple alter so be it, but man pretending like it is a good thing is so unbelievably pathetic.

http://twitter.com/petterolsson Petter Olsson

I thought the iPhone was a phone and Android an Operating System but perhaps I am wrong?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Omega-Man/100000590156587 Omega Man

A lot of people seem to be confused about this…

Anonymous

someone needs to supply some more facts……
http://www.facebook.com/people/Omega-Man/100000590156587 Omega Man

I say good for apple, if they can still sell those things….
http://twitter.com/djbtam djbtam

im not a fanboy of the iPhone or Android but I can see how this is plausible. Android is on all carriers so they have the numbers to be a BIG contender. But when and If the iPhone comes out on all carriers we can truly who the best-selling smartphone is in the U.S.
Phed_Up

Hmmm….

Last months market share numbers from ComScore say Android went up 5+%….CrApples increased 1.6%…

I call BS!

As so many have said here….(and BGR and EVERY other tech blog should take note of….) analysts are the only people on the planet (other than psychics, and horoscope writers) that get paid to MAKE STUFF UP!

With all of the $$ that has been dumped into CrApple stock, you think ANY analyst in their right mind is going to say anything but GOOD news about CrApple? C’mon!

Their market cap is bigger than MS, Intel, etc. etc. combined! When there is that much $$ tied to something, they will work their butts off to soften any blow that may be coming. That is just common sense.

Use whatever phone you like, enjoy it, and talk about its merits based on your use….don’t buy one based on some trumped up religious crap you read or hear about. Truth is one is NOT better than the other, nor is one more capable than the other….they are all good choices. Virtually every argument for/against can be made for either an Android or a CrApple phone. They are not exclusive to one another!

Can’t we all just get along?

BTW: My personal opinion is that the CrApple products suck, I have used them, and I don’t like them. I have a DX, and I LOVE IT! Buuuuuuut…..I do think MS will win this war over time! But whatever you like, use it till you don’t like it anymore….but don’t pretend that it is technically superior to something else simply because you like it, because that is just not true!

Just my 2c

Anonymous

Uhhhh I think if u actually read the article it just says iPhone is still the best selling smartphone. 5% growth is split among say 20? android phones. The 1.6% u stated belongs to iPhone alone right? Collectively androids are kicking ass tho.

Frango

no other phone will ever be better than an iphone period. android sucks

Phed_Up

Annnnnnnnd….the religious drivel begins!

Seriously, do you not even realize the ludicrousness of that statement?

“No other phone will ever be better…”

Why am I even wasting my time….

Yeesh!

Victimsofgravity

as an iPhone user for many years, I can say that I’m getting aggravated with the iphone.

They always get features AFTER everyone else. Why don’t we have voice to text ? That’s all I want! and Dragon Dictation sucks!
http://profiles.google.com/spark032207 SoonKyu Park

Are people actually taking this seriously? The analyst “recently spoke with 50 U.S. retailers.” In other words, he’s pulling this stuff out of his butt based on anecdotal evidence….
RonCouturier

iPhone has sold better then any phone…Show me any single phone that has sold more…don’t compare all androids to 1 iPhone

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TLOJWPRZXV3YMCGFPEQDLCYRFA Mets Fan

Why shouldn’t they compare all Androids to 1 phone, the idea behind the android is to offer those options, the idea behind Apple is to lock you into their products and their products only.

And btw, considering Android OS sell 2-1 phones of the iPhone, they don’t need to “catch up” at all.

Linda

As usual, BGR forgets to mention 1 little thing in the (very misleading) headline:

Why does it take 20 different companies… making 50 different phones… to “catch up” to just The Iphone by Apple?
http://www.informationworkshop.org Mark Hernandez

I saved this article as an example of misreporting on the BGR site. There are MANY errors here.

Some people ARE paying attention and rating the Apple-related blogs.

Just for starters, you refer to the iPhone (in general), not the iPhone 4 in particular, which is exactly a year old (not almost a year old.) More misrepresentations follow. tsk, tsk, tsk. It’s so easy to parrot and get the details wrong, instead of spending time to repeat and clarify for the benefit of the reader. But you got your 111 comments out of it, and no one will read them or this one, so you win. Another ding.
Anonymous

What a crock of shizt! lol…. Analysts are always trying to sell CrApple to us using RDF and FUD hype to befuddle Americans into believing iPhone still matters. The crux of this propaganda has been blown to pieces by the mere fact that they sold far less iphones over this 2nd quarter than they did in the first quarter. Other manufacturers give people CHOICE, whereas Apple only sells two versions of their generic one size fits all iphones. It’s the Volkswagen of our day! lol…..

Samsung by itself has sold a record 19 MILLION SMARTPHONES in the 2nd Quarter to outsell Nokia and take the #1 Smartphone maker and overall phone maker in the World. So that’s over 12 Million in the 1st Quarter and 19 Million this Quarter for a total of 31 Million Smartphones alone this year. The 3rd Quarter is looking to be a FREIGHT TRAIN running over CrApple’s arse! lol…. with Samsung Galaxy SII having yet to launch in America, China and India. No doubt Galaxy SII is slated to roll right over every other Smartphone in the Market! DD

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