4 ms·

500 Million Android devices activated globally

55 points by martythemaniak 14y ago

ge0rg 14y ago
Now this is really perfect timing to steal attention from the upcoming Apple press event. One might wonder if the time of the announcement is just accidental.
- bookwormAT 14y ago
  the announcement was last week at a motorola press event, so ...
Dirlewanger 14y ago
I wonder what Google plans to do once, in a year's time or so, Android's userbase begins to slow, just as Facebook's has.
- ChrisClark 14y ago
  Hasn't showed any sign of slowing down yet, still increasing rapidly. If it starts to slow down, at least it's stil positive. Probably will be up to 2 million per day before the growth turns negative, and then it will be a long time before we even get back to the current 1 million per day mark.
- Tichy 14y ago
  Help people to make more babies perhaps?
- wutbrodo 14y ago
  Well there's a key difference; Google doesn't exactly _need_ continued super-rapid user growth on Android. The reason slowing growth is a problem for Facebook is that it's the only way they could justify their valuation (or more importantly, grow their company), other than better monetization of users, which is their other Big Challenge. Also, the hypergrowth of Android is essentially driven just by the hypergrowth of mobile devices (since it's the most accessible OS for manufacturers and thus consumers across the world). The point of Android for Google was to foster this rapid growth of smartphone adoption without being under the thumb of a single vendor (especially one as capricious and overbearing as Apple). If it ever gets to the point that the world is saturated with smartphones, Google probably won't care that Android isn't the majority of that growth anymore.
TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
Probably more than that, I would imagine there are plenty of Android devices that don't phone home. (Kindle Fire, for instance)
foolano 14y ago
Is there any data on how many of those users spend money on apps?
- potatolicious 14y ago
  Almost certainly substantially less than iOS users, which I suppose is the point you were going for, but I think that whole rabbit hole is a red herring. The model of "sell apps to people for money" no longer works. We've depleted that gold mine (or vespene geyser, if you will). The only people who are having any fun on mobiles right now are services with mobile portals (think Yelp, AirBnb, eBay, etc) and sketchier-than-not "social gaming" apps.
  - mnicole 14y ago
    Citation needed.
- nl 14y ago
  iOS and Android app-buying behaviour seems to be converging. In 2011, 39% of iOS users had more than 20 paid apps. In 2012 that has dropped to 26%, while Android has climbed to 19%[1]. Additionally, "When it comes to paid-app refusers Android and Apple are now almost identical, with 6% of iPhone users and 7% of Android users having never spent money on an app." [1] http://www.swiftkey.net/android-catching-up-with-iphone-on-paid-apps http://www.swiftkey.net/android-catching-up-with-iphone-on-p...
enraged_camel 14y ago
Statistics like this are not very meaningful. The only reason there are so many Android devices globally is because Google licenses the OS to crappy Asian handset makers. I mean, it's not like 500 million people are using a high-quality device like Galaxy S3.
- nl 14y ago
  What's not meaningful about it? Some of those crappy Asian handset makers make very good phones - the Chinese Android phones from ZTE, Meizu and Huawei are competitive with mid range phones from HTC, Samsung etc. Some are even in the same class as the S3 - eg, look at the benchmarks in the Meizu MX-4 review[1] (unfortunate iOS-like skin notwithstanding). Even the low end phones give people who never had a computing device access to communications and the internet. How you claim that isn't meaningful? [1]http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/01/meizu-mx-4-core-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/01/meizu-mx-4-core-review/
- cbs 14y ago
  it's not like 500 million people are using a high-quality device like Galaxy S3. Sure, they don't have the latest greatest shiny, but so what? Its still market penetration, and unlike people just chasing shiny toys, they're looking for tools. And that's what they now have, a powerful tool that almost entirely everything the s3 does. It doesn't have the most powerful graphics, and that userbase might mean targeting a lower API level. Thats about it. I really don't see where you're going with that statement.
  - enraged_camel 14y ago
    >>I really don't see where you're going with that statement. I thought my statement was pretty simple. If there are two operating systems, and one is sold exclusively with a high-quality device, and the other is sold very cheaply with shitty phones, then when the latter's manufacturer says "we have 500 million devices running our OS" everyone is going to go "well, duh!"
    - nmridul 14y ago

ge0rg 14y ago

Now this is really perfect timing to steal attention from the upcoming Apple press event. One might wonder if the time of the announcement is just accidental.

bookwormAT 14y ago
the announcement was last week at a motorola press event, so ...

Dirlewanger 14y ago

I wonder what Google plans to do once, in a year's time or so, Android's userbase begins to slow, just as Facebook's has.

ChrisClark 14y ago
Hasn't showed any sign of slowing down yet, still increasing rapidly. If it starts to slow down, at least it's stil positive. Probably will be up to 2 million per day before the growth turns negative, and then it will be a long time before we even get back to the current 1 million per day mark.
Tichy 14y ago
Help people to make more babies perhaps?
wutbrodo 14y ago
Well there's a key difference; Google doesn't exactly _need_ continued super-rapid user growth on Android. The reason slowing growth is a problem for Facebook is that it's the only way they could justify their valuation (or more importantly, grow their company), other than better monetization of users, which is their other Big Challenge. Also, the hypergrowth of Android is essentially driven just by the hypergrowth of mobile devices (since it's the most accessible OS for manufacturers and thus consumers across the world). The point of Android for Google was to foster this rapid growth of smartphone adoption without being under the thumb of a single vendor (especially one as capricious and overbearing as Apple). If it ever gets to the point that the world is saturated with smartphones, Google probably won't care that Android isn't the majority of that growth anymore.

TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago

Probably more than that, I would imagine there are plenty of Android devices that don't phone home. (Kindle Fire, for instance)

foolano 14y ago

Is there any data on how many of those users spend money on apps?

potatolicious 14y ago
Almost certainly substantially less than iOS users, which I suppose is the point you were going for, but I think that whole rabbit hole is a red herring. The model of "sell apps to people for money" no longer works. We've depleted that gold mine (or vespene geyser, if you will). The only people who are having any fun on mobiles right now are services with mobile portals (think Yelp, AirBnb, eBay, etc) and sketchier-than-not "social gaming" apps.
- mnicole 14y ago
  Citation needed.
nl 14y ago
iOS and Android app-buying behaviour seems to be converging. In 2011, 39% of iOS users had more than 20 paid apps. In 2012 that has dropped to 26%, while Android has climbed to 19%[1]. Additionally, "When it comes to paid-app refusers Android and Apple are now almost identical, with 6% of iPhone users and 7% of Android users having never spent money on an app." [1] http://www.swiftkey.net/android-catching-up-with-iphone-on-paid-apps http://www.swiftkey.net/android-catching-up-with-iphone-on-p...

enraged_camel 14y ago

Statistics like this are not very meaningful. The only reason there are so many Android devices globally is because Google licenses the OS to crappy Asian handset makers. I mean, it's not like 500 million people are using a high-quality device like Galaxy S3.

nl 14y ago
What's not meaningful about it? Some of those crappy Asian handset makers make very good phones - the Chinese Android phones from ZTE, Meizu and Huawei are competitive with mid range phones from HTC, Samsung etc. Some are even in the same class as the S3 - eg, look at the benchmarks in the Meizu MX-4 review[1] (unfortunate iOS-like skin notwithstanding). Even the low end phones give people who never had a computing device access to communications and the internet. How you claim that isn't meaningful? [1]http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/01/meizu-mx-4-core-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/01/meizu-mx-4-core-review/
cbs 14y ago
it's not like 500 million people are using a high-quality device like Galaxy S3. Sure, they don't have the latest greatest shiny, but so what? Its still market penetration, and unlike people just chasing shiny toys, they're looking for tools. And that's what they now have, a powerful tool that almost entirely everything the s3 does. It doesn't have the most powerful graphics, and that userbase might mean targeting a lower API level. Thats about it. I really don't see where you're going with that statement.
- enraged_camel 14y ago
  >>I really don't see where you're going with that statement. I thought my statement was pretty simple. If there are two operating systems, and one is sold exclusively with a high-quality device, and the other is sold very cheaply with shitty phones, then when the latter's manufacturer says "we have 500 million devices running our OS" everyone is going to go "well, duh!"
  - nmridul 14y ago