ChangeWave Research Releases Apple Vs Google Android Report

Leading analyst and data company The 451 Group's ChangeWave Research devision has today released a report that takes 4,163 consumer and finds what they're reporting is a fresh look at smart phone demand trends. This report shows results in mobile OS and smart phone preferences now and going into the future. This is a survey that took place in June of this year and shows key comparisons between Google's Android mobile OS and Apple's iOS, this therefor showing the impact of the announcement of Apple's iCloud service specifically.

The chart you see above takes results that ChangeWave has been collecting since January of 2008, before Apple was a factor in the mobile OS landscape. This chart polls respondents on which type of smart phone they'd be purchasing in the 90 days following their polling. At that time it was RIM's BlackBerry OS that was the clear leader, with Android at a mere 1% compared to the Canadian giant's 21%. You'll notice also that this means essentially that less than 25% of the people polled were planning on purchasing a smartphone at all back in January of 2008.

In the newest poll, the one we're speaking about in this post, it's worth mentioning that the results are composed of 89% US respondents and 11% outside the USA. We must assume that the tests previous to this most recent test have been composed of a similar mixture as ChangeWave is not specific about these numbers previous to this most recent poll. After the January of 2008 poll, Apple remains the top choice amongst potential consumers until March of 2010 where Android beats iOS out by only a single percentage point. A similar situation happens in both September and December where Apple beats out Google by a single percentage point both times again. The newest survey shows Apple ahead by a considerable amount, 14 percentage points above Android which is sitting at 32%, this being the biggest difference since June of 2010 where Apple beat out Android by 20%.

You'll also notice that it appears Android's potential popularity increases drastically in December of 2009, where 6% becomes 21%, this being right around the time that Verizon and Motorola released the first DROID was released — see our original Motorola DROID on Verizon review for an idea of what it meant for Android at the time. Blackberry, on the other hand, continues a downward turn, continuing downward since December of 2008, March of 2009 being the last year it was in first place, December of 2009 being the first time RIM was beaten by both Apple and Google's Android.

The chart you see above in this Customer Satisfaction section shows only the most recent study done by ChangeWave done in June of 2011. This chart shows that Apple has a clear lead over each of the other main smartphone OS competitors, haven a 70% satisfaction rating amongst polled consumers who own iOS devices, these consumers saying they were Very Satisfied. Amongst Android users, approximately half of polled consumers said they were Very Satisfied. Windows OS follows along on this chart next with 27% while RIM's BlackBerry OS sits right alongside Windows at 26%, both of these being, again Very Satisfied consumers. ChangeWave notes that amongst those polled on Windows OS, 57% of Windows Phone 7 consumers said they were Very Satisfied while those still using Windows Mobile OS are down to 14%.

This next chart shows specifically the way Apple Product Owners and Non-Apple Product Owners are reacting to the recent announcement of Apple's iCloud service. To learn all about this service, head back to our post entitled SlashGear 101: What is iCloud? This study asks if respondents are "More Likely" to buy Apple products in the future due to the announcement of Apple's iCloud.

You'll see that amongst those responding from a perspective of already owning Apple products, respondents seemed significantly more likely to continue to purchase Apple products in light of the iCloud announcement. On the other hand, those not owning Apple products at the time of the iCloud announcement that will continue to not own an Apple product remain in the clear lead over those that will now purchase Apple products for the first time due to the iCloud announcement.

The final portion of ChangeWave's report hits in the Smart Phone Manufacturer department. There's a statistic not shown here with a graphic that ChangeWave makes an interesting case of: Apple vs Motorola. ChangeWave mentions that compared to Apple's 48% rate of those polled planning on getting a smartphone in the next 90 days (see above) running iOS, Motorola's 8% seem's rather pitiful: this number is down 4 points since ChangeWave last polled respondents. The interesting case ChangeWave makes is that Motorola had in previous years been feeding off the interest of Verizon-only consumers left without the choice to use an iPhone, as iPhone up until recently was only carried by AT&T.

The final chart shows a race between Apple and RIM/Blackberry for Cell Phone Satisfaction. You'll find that between the dates of April of 2007 and June of 2011, Blackberry has had a steady decline while Apple has remained rather consistent between 70% and 82% for overall satisfaction. ChangeWave concludes that this means Blackberry is essentially out of the race while Apple and Android are contending for the top mobile OS in the world. We concur.

[via ChangeWave Research]