Once upon a time, Samsung was the undisputed leader in the US smartphone market. In fact, it took Apple until 2019 — and a rough battle between the iPhone 11 and the Galaxy S10 — in order for the Cupertino company to come out ahead. Have things changed? Well, we have the results of a new consumer research we commissioned titled “How America Buys and Uses Smartphones: PhoneArena Survey,” and it gives us some very interesting pointers.
Before we get to the nitty gritty, here are some important points to consider regarding our survey:
- This is commissioned research, so we’re impartial as can be.
- 2,000 US consumers were surveyed.
- 100% accuracy is impossible, but the results should be considered statistically valid and up to date.
Here are the official numbers, as per our research
What better way of highlighting that the times they are a-changin’, huh?
Get this: It’s easy to hate on the Apple ecosystem, but it’s very hard to deny the success Apple’s strategy has led to.
Regardless, the ecosystem has played a huge part in not only Apple’s growth, but also in why the numbers above are as they are. I mean, have you noticed how Samsung is also trying to segment its features and services?
Sure, you can use Google Keep. But have you heard about Samsung Notes, your lord and savior? And you can probably think of more examples just like this and maybe it goes to show that Samsung knows just how Apple got ahead.
The iPhone, especially in terms of UI and UX — as in, menus and the way we navigate them — is designed so well that it can act both as a “baby’s first phone” or as something that grandpa can handle.
Now, Android can do that too, but it requires… Fiddling to reach the required result. While more experienced techies will likely be more capable when it comes to turning ‘Droid’ into what they want, can we really make a huge statement and say that experience is tied to age? You tell us.
But the fact of the matter is that Apple seems to be winning over the younger generations and that is certainly indicative of the way its innovations are being marketed and perceived.
But 61+24 ≠ 100!
In fact, it = 85! So what about the other 25?
Well, you’re not going to believe me, but 3% is actually still dedicated to LG, despite the fact that the company hasn’t made a smartphone since 2021! Motorola being just ahead with 5% makes total sense, thanks to Moto’s top-tier phone and carrier deals.
The rest? After Google with its not-so-inspiring 2% market share, what follows is a face-off between OnePlus, Sony and Nokia, all beneath the 2% mark. So, yeah. The question isn’t “but don’t a lot of people have Pixels now?”, but more like “wait, how many people actually have an iPhone?!”
And not to make you extra-scared of all the potential kids with iPhones, but other studies like this one from bankmycell or this one from StatCounter have come up with very close results, so it really seems like we’re getting an accurate snapshot of reality here.
While reflecting on these results, don’t forget to set a memo and check back with us later. Next time, we ask the question: “So, how much do Americans pay for phone bills?”. Board the hype train, because the official release of the “How America Buys and Uses Smartphones” report will happen at the end of August right here, on PhoneArena!
