Android users are more loyal to their platform than iOS users: study

Both Android and iOS have passionately committed fan bases, but it seems Android users are slightly more committed to their operating system than iOS users.

A recent Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) report conducted with U.S. data (reported on by TechCrunch) shows Android has a 91 percent loyalty rate — its highest peak yet — compared with 86 percent for iOS.

The loyalty rate is measured as the percentage of U.S. customers who stayed with their operating system when they upgraded their phone in 2017.

TechCrunch points out one of the possible reasons for the high Android loyalty rate is that users can switch brands but stick with a familiar OS. It wasn’t always this way though; in 2013 iOS users were found to be more loyal.

However, the rate of switching is different from the total number of people switching. Because Android has a larger base of users than iOS in the U.S., the absolute number of users switching to iOS from Android is as large or larger than the absolute number of users that switch to Android from iOS.

Of course, it’s also important to note that this data was taken from the U.S. market. Canada would be much different is a notably strong Apple market, with research firm IDC Canada reporting last June that Apple’s iPhones are in the low 50 percent penetration rate, while Androids are in the high 40 percent penetration rate — so the results might be different.

But perhaps the most interesting takeaway from this report is how high the loyalty rates are for both operating systems, indicating that users would much rather stick with an OS they know than change things up.

CIRP told TechCrunch this trend is driving Apple and Google’s focus on services like Apple Music and Google Photos. This focus drives more revenue from individual users, and keeps them within the operating system’s ecosystem.

Do you feel stuck in your operating system’s ecosystem? Let us know in the comments.

Source: TechCrunch