Apple is Top Gun in smartphones Sales but Samsung generates the most Web Traffic - ComScore Stats for First Quarter of 2013 and StatCounter Stats for June 2012 to June 2013

The Stats from Analyst ComScore are in and the verdict is unanimous: Apple is still on top in the US of A in terms of smartphone Sales but behind in terms of Mobile Operating System as stated in “Smartphone market share consolidates at top, study shows”, published June 28, 2013 12:45 PM PDT by Joan E. Solsman, CNET News.

But when you factor in the statistics of StatCounter, Apple rules in terms of Web Traffic in the US of A. Samsung smartphones and Google Android smartphones, on the other hand, generate the most Web Traffic. The Devil is in the details and that’s what I wish to expose!

ComScore says Apple iPhone still hot in the US of A – Samsung gaining on Apple

Take a gander at the statistics as presented by ComScore for the Three (3) months up to May 2013, effectively the Second Quarter of 2013:

1.      39.2% of U.S. smartphone subscribers for Apple

2.      23% of U.S. smartphone subscribers for Samsung

3.      8.7% of U.S. smartphone subscribers for HTC

4.      7.8% of U.S. smartphone subscribers for Motorola

5.      6.7% of U.S. smartphone subscribers for LG

In terms of Mobile Operating systems, though, the numbers tell a tale that’s true globally as well, as Google Android is the leading Mobile Operating system due mainly to its sheer weight of numbers:

1.      39.2% of U.S. smartphone subscribers go to Google Android OS

2.      39.2% of U.S. smartphone subscribers go to Apple iOS

3.      4.8% of U.S. smartphone subscribers go to Blackberry OS

4.      3.0% of U.S. smartphone subscribers go to Microsoft Windows Phone 7

5.      0.4% of U.S. smartphone subscribers go to Symbian OS

These figures may not reflect the Global outlook, but in terms of the US of A, Apple is clearly leading the smartphone market in terms of Brand as stated in “Apple extends lead over Samsung in U.S. smartphones”, published May 3, 2013 1:12 PM PDT by Roger Cheng, CNET News..

Both Samsung and Apple have gained, however, making the battle for smartphone supremacy being clearly between the two of them. Things are not looking so good for the other Smartphones, all of which have shown decline as can be seen on the charts above in terms of Brand and Operating Systems.

StatCounter says more Web Traffic from Samsung Smartphones – Apple Pie Revenge

Samsung, however, rules in one respect. They are the smartphone that’s most often used to surf the Internet on a Mobile Device in June 2013 according to analyst StatCounter as stated in the article “Samsung surpasses Apple in smartphone Web usage”, published July 10, 2013 4:52 AM PDT by Stephen Shankland, CNET News.

This conclusion was arrived at by analyzing traffic at some nearly 3 million websites frequently used by Web surfers based on popularity and Ranking on Google and Alexa Search Databases. The figures stac k up nicely in Samsung’s favour in June 2013 and can be  seen as a continuing trend:

1.      25.5% of Web Traffic for Samsung smartphones

2.      25.1% of Web Traffic for the Apple iPhones

3.      22% of Web Traffic for Nokia smartphones

4.      3.6% of Web Traffic for BlackBerry devices

The Graph below shows the development over time of a slim lead for Samsung smartphones that they may soon relinquish to Apple. It however, does go to show that having a larger screen does make it a little more convenient to surf the web as StatCounter statistics only rate smartphones  as Mobile devices, not Tablets.

StatCounter sees them as merely another category of personal computer, albeit Mobile in nature, akin more to a laptop, quote: “We define a Mobile device as a pocket-sized computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input or a miniature keyboard. Tablets, while portable, are not considered Mobile devices according to this definition”. Coupled with their increasing popularity in the US of A and globally, this was inevitable. The Graph below shows the development of this trend over time.

Broken down to the US market only, however, Apple iPhone continues to be the number one smartphone that most subscribers use to surf the Internet. For Mobile Browsing during the period July 2012 to June 2013, the stats are pretty much in line with Apple's dominance of smartphones in the US of A:

1.      50.4% percent of usage in July 2012 to 54.8% in June 2013 for Apple iPhones

2.      12.7% percent of usage in July 2012 to 18.3% in June 2013 for Samsung

However, when the usage stats are looked at in terms of Mobile Browser in terms of their Operating System, the figures for June 2013 are quite different and are more in line with the Global trends as it relates to the dominance of Google Android Operating Systems on Smartphones:

1.      29.1% for unBranded Android Browser

2.      25.0% for Apple's Safari Browser

3.      16% for Opera Browser

The Stats are again better displayed on a trend Graph over the long term, which shows that the unBranded Android Browser has been in the lead for quite some time with both Apple Safari Browser usage and unBranded Android Browser usage rising in recent months leading up to June 2013.

In concluding both ComScore and StatCounter are saying the same thing but using different Statistical methodologies, each independently verifying the other. Apple, despite the proliferation of Google Android smartphones from Samsung, is still No. 1 in the US of A, but the top Mobile Operating System, hands down, is Google Android, when you choose to asses this in terms of Brands, Mobile Operating Systems and Web Traffic Broken down by Brands!