New data suggest global smartphone adoption, and that of Android and iOS specifically, is outpacing the adoption rate of any consumer technology in history.
A new report by mobile analytics research firm, Flurry, compares smartphone adoption to other recent technology and found that current smartphone adoption is 10 times faster than that of the 80s PC revolution. It is also twice as fast as the 90s Internet boom and three times faster than social networking adoption.
According to Flurry, there were an estimated 640 million iOS and Android devices in use in July this year. The research firm says it can detect over 90% of all active Android and iOS devices globally and tracks over 200 000 apps.
“Five years into the smart device growth curve, expansion of this new technology is rapidly expanding beyond early adopter markets such as North America and Western Europe, creating a true worldwide addressable market,” says Flurry.
data does not show the split between iOS and Android in the different markets.
“Notably, all four BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are represented in the top 10 growth countries for smart devices, reinforcing their new stage of advanced economic development,” says Flurry. Brazil recorded 279% year-on-year growth in active devices, while Russia saw 189% growth and India 171%.
International growth
Flurry's data also shows that 64% of all app sessions take place outside of the US. A year ago, the US accounted for 52% of all active Android and iOS app sessions; this figure is now down to 36%. “With international growth accelerating, there has never been a better time, in the history of technology, to be a software developer,” says Flurry.
“Enabled by digital distribution across the unprecedented growing base of iOS and Android smart devices, global software distribution has never been so frictionless. After building an application, a development team can distribute its app on Android instantaneously and, after review by Apple, can be in the App Store within roughly one week.”
While SA doesn't feature in the top 10 countries for smartphone growth or penetration, the local mobile market is on a steady upward trajectory. According to the latest figures from the nationally representative Mobility 2012 study, by World Wide Worx, BlackBerry is still king of the local smartphone market, despite the global rise of Android and iOS.
Recent figures from IDC showed that together Android and iOS accounted for 85% of all smartphone shipments globally (with Android accounting for 68% of that). The smartphone landscape in SA is, however, somewhat different.
Local perspective
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says there are under one million active Android devices in SA, and less than 500 000 iPhone users. This is compared to the estimated 4.5 million BlackBerry handsets currently in use in SA (growing its footprint from 4% to 18% in the last 18 months).
At the end of 2011, the smartphone user base in SA was estimated to be in the region of 8.5 million. This figure is expected to rise to 11 million by the end of 2012.
Overall, Nokia still commands over 50% of the local mobile market. “Nokia is expected to remain the number one cellphone brand in SA through to the end of 2013, but with a slightly diminished market share,” says Goldstuck.
“Despite the wealthy top end of the market abandoning BlackBerry for the iPhone and the new Samsung Galaxy S3, this does not translate into significant market share for Apple or Samsung, as BlackBerry remains dominant in the smartphone segment,” says Goldstuck.
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