Press Releases

April 19, 2011

Apple iOS Platform Outreaches Android by 59 Percent in U.S. When Accounting for Mobile Phones, Tablets and Other Connected Media Devices

comScore Releases First Public Data on Apple iPad Users from MobiLens Service

RESTON, VA, April 19, 2011 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a U.S. study of Apple iPad owners, based on data from the comScore MobiLens service. The report includes comScore’s first publicly available data showing demographics and other characteristics of users of connected media devices, such as the iPad and iPod Touch. Initial research indicates that Apple’s iOS platform, which resides on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, has a combined platform reach of 37.9 million among all mobile phones, tablets and other such connected media devices, outreaching the Android platform by 59 percent.

“comScore is excited to announce the availability of connected device data as part of the comScore MobiLens service,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile. “This new data set enables us to not only understand the comprehensive ecosystem of mobile and connected media device users, but it also allows us insight into their detailed demographic and behavioral attributes.”

iPad and other connected media device data are also currently available in Europe. comScore will publicly release European data in the coming days.

Apple iOS Has Significantly Greater Reach than Android

comScore’s analysis of the unduplicated audience reach of the Apple iOS platform across iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches revealed a combined iOS installed base of 37.9 million users. The installed base of iPhones slightly exceeded that of iPod Touches, both of which were approximately twice as high as the number of iPads. Interestingly, among the 37.9 million consumers with access to the Apple iOS, only 4 million (10.5 percent) accessed the platform via more than one device. The combined 37.9 million iOS users is 59 percent greater than the 23.8 million combined Android OS installed base, which includes users of both Android phones and connected media devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Apple iOS vs. Android OS Across Media Devices
3 Mo. Avg. Ending February 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
  Total Installed Base (000) Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Total Subscribers 234,000 100.0%
Apple iOS 37,868 16.2%
Android OS 23,763 10.2%

“These data clearly illustrate the Apple ecosystem extends far beyond the iPhone,” added Donovan. “Though it’s frequently assumed that the Apple user base is composed of dedicated Apple ‘fanboys’, there’s not a tremendous amount of overlapping mobile device access among these users. This of course has significant implications for the developer community as they consider the market potential in developing applications for different mobile platforms.”

Apple iPad Ownership Extends Beyond Just “Fanboys”

The research also suggests that iPad ownership extends well beyond Apple’s most fervent consumers. Although a perception may exist that iPad owners tend to be those with a very strong affinity for Apple products, an analysis of the mobile devices of iPad owners indicates that may not be the case. While Apple is indeed the most heavily represented OEM among iPad owners, its OEM share (27.3 percent) is only slightly higher than its share among all smartphone subscribers (25.2 percent). RIM accounts for the second highest percentage of iPad owners at 17.5 percent, but this number is well below its overall smartphone market share of 28.9 percent. Meanwhile, Samsung, LG and Nokia are all significantly overrepresented among iPad owners as compared to their respective shares of the smartphone market. In addition, 14.2 percent of iPad users had Android phones.

Mobile Phone OEM Breakdown for Apple iPad Owners
3 Mo. Avg. Ending February 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
  % of Smartphone Users % of iPad Users Index of iPad to Smartphone Owners*
Total Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% 100
Apple 25.2% 27.3% 108
RIM 28.9% 17.5% 61
Samsung 8.6% 14.3% 167
LG 3.6% 12.1% 340
Motorola 10.7% 9.0% 84
Nokia 2.3% 3.4% 149

Index = % of iPad Owners/% of Smartphone Owners x 100;
Index of 100 indicates average representation

Apple iPad Ownership Skews to 25-34 Year Olds

The age profile of iPad users indicated the heaviest skew toward 25-34 year olds (27.0 percent) in relation to the total mobile audience (17.6 percent). iPads also exhibited significantly above average skews in the 18-24 year old and 35-44 year old segments. However, this demographic profile was similar to that of the overall smartphone user base, indicating that the advanced mobile capabilities rather than the device itself might be primary driver behind this age profile.

Age Demographic Profile for Apple iPad Owners
3 Mo. Avg. Ending February 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
% of Users
Total Mobile Smartphone iPad
Total Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Age 13-17 7.1% 6.3% 7.6%
Age 18-24 12.5% 16.9% 15.2%
Age 25-34 17.6% 27.4% 27.0%
Age 35-44 16.8% 22.1% 20.3%
Age 45-54 17.8% 15.3% 16.4%
Age 55-64 14.1% 7.4% 7.3%
Age 65+ 14.0% 4.6% 6.2%

About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

Contact:
Andrew Lipsman
comScore, Inc.
+1 312 775 6510
press@comscore.com