The fierce competition between iPhones and Androids is tilting towards Apple’s device in the United States.
While Androids maintain a global dominance, iPhones are dominating the teen market in the United States. A full 87% of American teenagers own an iPhone, making Android users a small minority. The Wall Street Journal explains:
Apple holds 57% of the phones market versus Android’s 42% in the U.S., according to web traffic analysis site Statcounter. The data skews worse for Android when narrowed down to teenagers. According to a survey of 7,100 American teens last year conducted by investment bank Piper Sandler, 87% of teens currently have an iPhone, and 87% plan on sticking with the brand for their next phone.
But the stigma regarding Android phones is mostly an American phenomenon, at least to the degree to which it affects purchase habits. Worldwide, per the same Statcounter report, Androids represent the significant majority of all smartphones, holding a 71% share of sales compared with Apple’s 28%.
Reasons for iPhone usage among teens is usually ascribed to Apple’s iMessage functionality and the integrated approach between the hardware and operating system. Phone Arena continues:
Ironically, Google’s own messaging system for Android uses a platform called Rich Communication Services (RCS) which delivers certain familiar features like end-to-end encryption, typing indicators, read receipts, high-quality images, and blue text bubbles, but only when all of the parties in a chat are using Android. But should an iPhone user slip into the group, guess what happens? All of these features go away and the outcast iOS user will be seeing his words typed inside a telltale green text bubble.
Yet, you never hear about a group of Android-totin teens verbally attacking the parents of an iPhone user for making too much money. And speaking about the insults, teens apparently do not know that some Android phones are more expensive than an iPhone. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts at $1,800.
While switching between Androids and iPhones is not uncommon, marketers notice that people will generally stick to products chosen during teenage years and young adulthood. If this holds up, Apple is set to grow its phone market share over the coming years.
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