Android Users Spend 20% Less Time in Apps Than Apple Users, Study Reports
Recent numbers by a market research firm appear to show that Android users spend 20 percent less time using their apps than iOS users spend.
That discrepancy largely has to do with how the two ecosystems have developed, noted Mary Ellen Gordon, director of industry insights and analysis for the research firm, Flurry.
Flurry analyzed four years worth of its own data to understand who is ahead in which contests, discuss the apparent strengths and weaknesses of the competitors, and consider the implications for the overall mobile ecosystem, according to the company’s blog.
Up to the introduction of the newer Samsung Galaxy S models, Android buyers were purchasing their phones for different reasons than iPhone users, she explained.
Apple has always positioned the iPhone as a mini-computer that you run apps on, she continued. On the other hand, many Android users came to the platform as an upgrade from a feature phone.
“That fundamental difference in mindset could result in a difference in the propensity to use apps,” she told PCWorld. “If you’re buying a device for apps, you’re going to use a lot of apps. If you’re buying it as a phone, you’re going to use it as a phone.”
Fragmentation in the Android market may also contribute to lower app usage. There are many screen sizes, device types, memory configurations, and versions of the operating system in the market. “It just makes it harder for app developers to develop for Android,” she said.
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