Report: Android Still No. 1 in U.S., But iOS, Windows Phone Are Growing

The majority of U.S. smartphone owners have Android devices, but Windows Phone is making slow but steady market share gains. Meanwhile, iOS usage is down from last quarter, but up year-over-year.

PCMag’s Chloe Albanesius reported, “While Android is the most popular smartphone mobile operating system in the U.S., Apple’s iOS and Microsoft’s Windows Phone platforms also saw gains in recent months, according to new stats. As noted by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Android had 51.7 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the three months ending April 2013, followed by iOS with 41.4 percent and Windows Phone with 5.6 percent.”

The Next Web’s Emil Protalinski noted, “Although Google’s mobile operating system gained 1.4 percentage points year-over-year, both Apple and Microsoft have seen higher gains year-over-year: iOS was up 2.3 percentage points and Windows Phone snagged an additional 1.8 percentage points.”

CNET quoted Kantar’s Mary-Ann Parlato, who said, “When looking at those who changed device, between 2011 and 2012, Windows was more successful at capturing older consumers aged 50-64. But when looking at those changing now and in the last year, we’re seeing Windows now gaining share among those aged 25-34.”

The Kantar survey also broke out U.S. wireless carrier usage. VentureBeat’s John Koetsier observed, “In the U.S. market, Verizon continues to own the largest share of smartphone sales, with 36.3 percent, followed by AT&T with 26.3 percent and Sprint with 13.1 percent.”