Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Android, iOS continue their tag-team thrashing of RIM’s market share

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:34PM EST
BGR

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Android and iOS have gained market share at BlackBerry’s expense. The latest numbers from comScore show that smartphones based on Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system and Apple’s (AAPL) iOS once again increased their share of the smartphone market in the United States last quarter, increasing to 52.2% and 33.4%, respectively. The big loser was, once again, RIM’s (RIMM) BlackBerry OS, which saw its market share decline to just 9.5%, two percentage points lower than the 11.6% market share it registered in the previous quarter. When it comes to individual smartphone OEMs, Samsung (005930) led the way last quarter with 25.6% share of the U.S. market last quarter, followed by LG (06657011) with an 18.4% market share and Apple with a 16.3% market share. ComScore’s full press release follows below.

comScore Reports July 2012 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Apple’s Share of Smartphone Market Grows to 1 in 3 Subscribers

RESTON, VA, September 4, 2012 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending July 2012. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.6 percent market share. Google Android continued to lead among smartphone platforms, accounting for 52.2 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Apple secured 33.4 percent.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in July, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 18.4 percent share. Apple continued to gain share in the OEM market, ranking third with 16.3 percent of mobile subscribers (up 1.9 percentage points), followed by Motorola with 11.2 percent and HTC with 6.4 percent (up 0.4 percentage points).

Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Apr-12 Jul-12 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Samsung 25.9% 25.6% -0.3
LG 19.2% 18.4% -0.8
Apple 14.4% 16.3% 1.9
Motorola 12.5% 11.2% -1.3
HTC 6.0% 6.4% 0.4

Smartphone Platform Market Share

More than 114 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in July, up 7 percent versus April. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 52.2 percent market share (up 1.4 percentage points), while Apple’s share increased 2 percentage points to 33.4 percent. RIM ranked third with 9.5 percent share, followed by Microsoft (3.6 percent) and Symbian (0.8 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012
Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
Apr-12 Jul-12 Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Google 50.8% 52.2% 1.4
Apple 31.4% 33.4% 2.0
RIM 11.6% 9.5% -2.1
Microsoft 4.0% 3.6% -0.4
Symbian 1.3% 0.8% -0.5

Mobile Content Usage

In July, 75.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device (up 1.5 percentage points). Downloaded applications were used by 52.6 percent of subscribers (up 2.4 percentage points), while browsers were used by 51.2 percent (up 2.2 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 1.9 percentage points to 37.9 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 33.8 percent of the mobile audience (up 0.7 percentage points), while 28.3 percent listened to music on their phones (up 2.5 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Apr-12 Jul-12 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Sent text message to another phone 74.1% 75.6% 1.5
Used downloaded apps 50.2% 52.6% 2.4
Used browser 49.0% 51.2% 2.2
Accessed social networking site or blog 36.0% 37.9% 1.9
Played Games 33.1% 33.8% 0.7
Listened to music on mobile phone 25.8% 28.3% 2.5
Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.