iOS, Android adoption now twice as fast as 1990s Internet boom
By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 01:51 PM EST (10:51 AM PST) – http://bit.ly/1oSP9S8
A new study concludes that the rate of adoption of devices running Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android has surpassed that of any consumer technology in history.
Adoption of iOS and Android devices is now occurring ten times faster than the growth of PCs in the 1980s, and is also growing twice as fast as the Internet boom of the 1990s, according to the latest data from research firm Flurry. Adoption of devices running iOS and Android is also occurring three times faster than recent social network adoption.
Flurry’s numbers show that there were more than 640 million iOS and Android devices in use during the month of July, with 165 million of those found in the U.S. But adoption of iOS and Android devices is growing at the greatest clip internationally.
In particular, China is now poised to surpass the U.S. as the largest market for active iOS and Android devices. China currently has an estimated 128 million total combined active devices, but is growing at a rate of 401 percent year over year, making it the fastest growing market for iOS and Android devices in the world.
The U.S., meanwhile, is one of the most saturated markets in the world for what Flurry refers to as „smart devices.“ It estimates that 78 percent of adults ages 15 to 64 years old are active smart device users.
The numbers show why Apple has placed considerable efforts into China in recent years, where the company has seen tremendous growth as Chinese customers rapidly adopt Apple’s products. China has been a particular focus for Apple with the recent launch of Mountain Lion and the iOS 6 update coming later this year, both of which sport new features aimed at Chinese users.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in April during a quarterly earnings call that the company’s revenue in China has been „mind-boggling.“ The region brought in $7.39 billion in revenue during the March quarter, driven largely by iPhone sales, which were up five times that of the year ago quarter.