“Apple’s two big efforts to push aside some of the most popular mobile apps in maps and music have taken a drubbing from critics, but new data from Comscore show just how successful they’ve been,” Aaron Pressman reports for Yahoo Finance.
“Apple’s much-derided Maps app is rapidly catching up to Google’s Maps app, the U.S. market leader,” Pressman reports. “More than 42 million people used Apple Maps in the three months ended in June, compared to 64 million using Google. And iTunes Radio, the Pandora (P) clone that’s seen few improvements since it arrived last year, had almost 41 million U.S. users compared to Pandora’s 69 million. The totals include users on both iPhones and Android, even though Apple doesn’t offer its apps on Android. [Bold emphasis added – MDN Ed.]”
“The successes demonstrate the power of Apple’s brand and its iOS ecosystem. Among all U.S. smartphone users, 44.5%, or 67.4 million, were on Apple’s iPhone. They represented the wealthier side as well, with median annual income of $85,000 compared to $61,000 for Android user,” Pressman reports. “App usage appears to follow the same kind of skewed distribution that is simplistically called the 80/20 rule – 20% of customers are responsible for 80% of sales.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we explained way back in November 2012:
It’s the marketing, stupid.
Android is pushed to users who are, in general:
a) confused about why they should be choosing an iPhone over an inferior knockoff and therefore might be less prone to understand/explore their devices’ capabilities or trust their devices with credit card info for shopping; and/or
b) enticed with “Buy One Get One Free,” “Buy One, Get Two or More Free,” or similar offers.Neither type of customer is the cream of the crop when it comes to successful engagement or coveted demographics; closer to the bottom of the barrel than the top, in fact. Android can be widespread and still demographically inferior precisely because of the way in which and to whom Android devices are marketed. Unending BOGO promos attract a seemingly unending stream of cheapskate freetards just as inane, pointless TV commercials about robots or blasting holes in concrete walls attract meatheads and dullards, not exactly the best demographics unless you’re peddling muscle-building powders or grease monkey overalls.
Google made a crucial mistake: They gave away Android to “partners” who pushed and continue to push the product into the hands of the exact opposite type of user that Google needs for Android to truly thrive. Hence, Android is a backwater of second-rate, or worse, app versions that are only downloaded when free or ad-supported – but the Android user is notoriously cheap, so the ads don’t sell for much because they don’t work very well. You’d have guessed that Google would have understood this, but you’d have guessed wrong.
Google built a platform that depends heavily on advertising support, but sold it to the very type of customer who’s the least likely to patronize ads.
iOS users are the ones who buy apps, so developers focus on iOS users. iOS users buy products, so accessory makers focus on iOS users. iOS users have money and the proven will to spend it, so vehicle makers focus on iOS users. Etcetera. Android can have the “Hee Haw” demographic. Apple doesn’t want it or need it; it’s far more trouble than it’s worth.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jaribbs” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
IDC: Apple again took the smartphone cream in Q2 – August 15, 2014
iOS users seven times more active than those who settle for Android – August 4, 2014
Report: Google’s Android the ‘preferred platform’ for terrorists – August 1, 2014
Yet more proof that Android is for poor people – June 27, 2014
More proof that Android is for poor people – May 13, 2014
Apple’s iOS dominates in richer countries, Android in poorer regions – March 25, 2014
IDC: Apple iPhone to maintain high value, margins, and market share through 2018 – February 28, 2014
Why Apple’s iPhone keeps raking in the majority of mobile phone profits – March 19, 2014
Apple dominates with 60% share of mobile phone profits – March 18, 2014
Android has the most unit share, but Apple dominates profit share, making more money than all Android smartphone makers combined – November 15, 2013
Android users poorer, shorter, unhealthier, less educated, far less charitable than Apple iPhone users – November 13, 2013
IDC data shows two thirds of Android’s 81% smartphone share are cheap junk phones – November 13, 2013
IDC: Android worldwide smartphone market share passes 80% – November 12, 2013
Apple Maps makes killer comeback as Google Maps loses access to world’s most desirable mobile customers – November 12, 2013
Android phones 3 times more likely than Apple iPhones to have been bought at discount store – August 22, 2013
CIRP: Apple iPhone users are younger, richer, and better educated than those who settle for Samsung knockoff phones – August 19, 2013
Twitter heat map shows iPhone use by the affluent, Android by the poor – June 20, 2013
Apple’s iPhone generates more in carrier fees than rival smartphones – January 30, 2013
Unsurprisingly, survey says Apple’s iOS is highest priority among mobile developers – January 23, 2013
People buy more Android phone units and do less with them vs. Apple’s revolutionary iPhone – November 14, 2012
Study: iPad users more likely to buy – and buy more – online than traditional PC users – September 29, 2011
iPhone users smarter, richer than Android phone users – August 16, 2011
Yankee Group: Apple iPhone owners shop more, buy more, remain more loyal vs. other device users – July 20, 2010
iPhone owners more likely to pay for digital content – November 26, 2009
Study: Apple iPhone users richer, younger, more productive than other so-called ‘smartphone’ users – June 12, 2009
Apple iPhone users buy many more apps, surf the Web much more than other ‘smartphone’ users – March 27, 2009
I use iTunes Radio almost exclusively. It’s gotten a lot better. Also use Apple Maps, exclusively.
The author is dead wrong that Apple has done nothing to upgrade or improve these apps. They have been working very hard in the background.
Author needs to wise up.
i use iTunes Radio from time to time but I keep having a problem where iTunes Radio will run for an hour or two and then my custom station suddenly stops and needs to be restarted again. It always hangs while loading a new song. The song title loads but the music doesn’t start. I find that rather annoying. No, it’s not my internet connection because I have no problems like that with Pandora, Songza or Spotify. I’m expecting that with the Beats acquisition and new programming blood, iTunes Radio will take a giant leap past some of those other streaming companies.
I was using my phone when that happened. It prompted me, “Are you there?” After which I selected yes and it continued playing. So maybe a problem, maybe design.
I use Apple Maps nearly exclusively. The exception is when AM can’t find a location and I’m forced to look it up Google Maps. GM tends to have a more robust commercial/residential database though AM is getting better rapidly. I’d give it a year before both apps reach curatorial parity.
As for iTunes Radio–Spotify’s is the only route to go. iTunes custom/curated radio stations are just not where they need to be. It’s like an 18 year old is picking the songs. Really no deep cuts curation at all. I’d much rather have the Spotify choice and playlists than trust some millennial picker.
Maps is OK on an iPhone, but go over to your Mac and use the new Apple Maps app….okay, looks good.
Now plan a route. Okay, so far so good…but now try to _change_ that route to an alternate. FAIL.
Okay, so you’re stuck with only one route. Try printing it. FAIL.
On the Mac, I’m back to Google Maps. Vastly better.
-hh
Apple and Google both have access to large amounts of personal data simply by using their stuff. That is were the similarity ends.
I applaud and use Apple products and services for their security qualities over Google. Google is a parasite, a cancer on the internet. I thank Apple for allowing me to have a Google-free mobile/computer experience. It rocks.
Apple Maps has gotten better and Google Maps- even on Android- has gotten worse. Not sure where or when the lines cross in the market, but it seems inevitable.
It amazes me how Google can have so much money and resources yet produce such mediocre shit. I guess they spend all their resources trying to digitally stalk every last digital fart on the internet.
iTunes Radio is still huge disappointment and I try it from time to time hoping that it has improved. Still no joy.
Every time there’s an article about Maps I check it out to see if the correction I continually post about has been implemented. Truth to tell, it _has_ changed- to something much more incorrect. Ah, well….
Really wished Apple had bought Waze cause it really is a great app, I like Apple maps for its clean looks but Waze helps you get there quicker.
I’ve never had a problem with Apple Maps. As I’ve said before, it’s the only digital mapping service that has my house even located on the correct street, and it did so out of the box.
iTunes Radio, on the other hand, does nothing for me except get in the way… though I finally figured out how to take it out of the main “toolbar” of the Music app. Still can’t nix it from my AppleTV screen though. As far as discovering new music, it has been far inferior to Pandora for my tastes, though YMMV. However, while I have eliminated commercials from Pandora by buying Pandora One, Apple WON’T LET ME buy iTunes Match to get rid of the commercials on iTunes Radio… because I own too much music. (I will never understand the logic of that.) Since I can’t stand commercials, I don’t use iTunes Radio.
How do you get rid of the annoying blue circle around your house in Maps?
Let’s hope that’s not a targeting reticule…
Damn, you’re smart. Always. You bring us joy. We all love you.
No, it’s you who is the smart one, citizen, because you are guided more by your sense of humour and humanity, which are innate and yours alone, than by any lockstep ideology. We’ll continue to meet outside the box. 🙂
Those are usually red.
How did you know it was my house?!?!
There is an good reason it’s there.
A MUST READ
“About location precision or accuracy
Depending on your device and available services, Location Services uses a combination of cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS to determine your location. If you’re not within a clear line of sight to GPS satellites, your device can determine your location using crowd-sourced Wi-Fi5 and cell tower locations or iBeacons.
Apps that can show your location on the screen, including Maps, indicate your current (approximate) location using a blue marker. If your location can’t be determined precisely, a blue circle also appears around the marker. The size of the circle shows how precisely your location can be determined—the smaller the circle, the greater the precision.”
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5594
NOTE: Accuracy on Mobile apps that depend on Location Services may vary from one service provider to another, particularly as cellular data is not consistent from one ISO to another. Thus we evidence Apple Maps may be more accurate than Google Maps in one place than another and vice-a-versa.
I personally use my iPhone TomTom app for driving because it is the most accurate. On my new iPad Retina which doesn’t have a GPS, I got a Bad Elf GPS (Lighting Connector)* which works great on the road, on the water and in the air.
* http://bad-elf.com/pages/be-gps-1008-detail
Still waiting for iTunes Radio to come to Canada.
You don’t have there?! Strange, considering this: “SYDNEY—February 11, 2014—Apple® today announced iTunes Radio™ is now available to music fans in Australia.”
It may take some time.
Canadian law requires that 35% of music played on Canadian radio stations must be of Canadian content.
In addition, foreign ownership cannot be more than 20% (33% for holding companies)
Now before anyone goes off the deep end, the US only allows 25% foreign ownership.
Of course, we all know that the music and video industry is virtually American controlled. And the powers to be of their broadcasting medium far reaches beyond the borders of the world than any other country can match.
In contrast, no such restrictions exist in Australia. If there is any broadcast overlap, I assume that it would come from New Zealand, a much, may I facetiously, ‘smaller’, island, whereas in Canada, most of the population lives within 100 miles of the US-Canada border.
For iTunes to come to Canada, there are the CRTC laws, cultural/language issues, and the existing broadcasters’ concerns that are sure to be raised and negotiated upon.
Strategically speaking, Apple had no choice but to “damn the torpedoes, and proceed full steam ahead” …w/ their own maps app. It was not easy and it got messy. But in the end, they accomplished their goal. There was no easy way, and no other choice. In the end, they did it. And the rest is history. Apple can make this type of tough, strategic decision. And they are invariably right. Go Apple!
btw: an apple ‘flop’ like the iPhone 5C outsells the top of the line samsung S4s and S5s.
(I’m posting this because just this week with the iPhone 6 imminent I’m reading articles about how ‘apple can fail like the 5C’ and I keep reading about Apple ‘Maps, iTunes Radio’ as failures… )
other thing too is that people listening to iTunes Radio might actually BUY the song from iTunes helping apple actually make money from streaming, All the other streaming services lose money.
While it may be true that Apple Maps improved in the US it certainly is lagging behind Google Maps in Europe.
Usually I start of with Apple maps but more often than not I get no results. When I then turn to Google Maps in 90% of those searches which led to no results in Apple maps are instantly found on Google maps.
I hate to say it (because I really prefer Apple over private data sucking evil Google) but Google maps is still the better app by far. At least their database and search results are much much better and Apple has a long way to go. I do not use neither app for directions/routes and are not commenting on those function. It’s just the search results (in Germany and many parts of Europe where I use to travel a lot) I am referring to as that is most important to me anyway.
Apple Maps is still missing a new bridge that opened a month ago, so it detours you a good 10 miles. Google Maps had it almost right away.
Apple Maps still only finds 1 or 2 local branches of the biggest bank in Canada. There are actually over 2 dozen, have been for over a decade.
Have submitted these and other corrections several times, only once have they fixed anything, and that was to add a street name when before they’d only show the official number along the entire stretch of highway that ran through the city.
Apple Maps is a default app so I use it a lot.
But (here in the UK and Europe) Maps has nothing like Street View, so I still go Google when I want to see a destination properly.
And Google is quicker and has a far superior database.
Apple Maps works great.
Just finishing a holiday in Northern France and Belgium – used iPhone 4s and iPad 2 all week with Maps and Siri (bless her/his soul!) exclusively to navigate to ALL the WW1 sites, around towns like Bruges, Ypres, Ostend and I have not missed a turn!
Simply wonderful!
Did a gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in May (has anyone SEEN the one-way system there!!?) my iPhone 4s and Maps/Siri got us anywhere we chose to go! Brilliant! Just waiting for the new iPhone now!
What about Maps on Mac and iTunes Radio on Mac and Windows. How does that play onto all this? MacBook Airs are mobile too aren’t they? Does iTunes and iTunes Radio work on the windows tablet things they are trying to sell? I’m curious. The article was so short couldn’t you have dug a little deeper and provided a few more factoids for us?
Google Maps is still a LOT better than Apple Maps. I’m sorry, but it’s true. It has a lot more detail. I can search for things that show up on Google but fail on Apple Maps. I’ve also had things in the wrong place. Also they are supposedly fixing the lack of transit maps in Apple Maps, but it already works pretty well on Google and not at all yet on Apple Maps. I love the Mac and the iPad and iPhone. But Apple’s product isn’t there yet.