7 ms·

Android Overtakes Apple in Australia

67 points by nreece 14y ago

spo81rty 14y ago
I see a lot about Android having a high market share. I've seen numbers like 70-75%. But I think Apple buyers are more affluent and buy more apps even though their market share is only 20%. A lot of people who used to have feature phones or buy the cheapest pre paid phones they can get, now get android phones. Virgin Mobile has one for like $60 my in-laws have. So my point is, while the high android market share is there, as an app developer, the market share in relation to app usage and spend is still skewed towards Apple for now.
- batiudrami 14y ago
  At the same time, I don't see very many iPhone 5s around - I only know one person who has one (though they can be difficult to differentiate from the 4/4S), whereas it seems like everyone has a Galaxy S2 or S3. The S2 really caught on in Australia due to some very agressive pricing. I'd say I see as many S2/S3s around as iPhones (and probably more than iPhone amongst younger people). They're everywhere. That being said, there is an additional layer of difficulty when it comes to purchasing apps on Android that iPhone doesn't have - most people had an iPod and one point and have an iTunes store account set up already, possibly with some credit already on it (ITMS gift cards were popular presents for a while). Play store requires you to enter your credit card on a new account, which I suspect is a significant barrier to app purchases for many people, out of caution or laziness. Also, due to the more technical nature of the Android developer crowd, with the exception of games, there is almost always a free equivalent to paid apps which are as good or almost as good.
  - beamso 14y ago
    The iPhone 5 was very difficult to walk in and buy without taking out a two year contract (the Apple Retail Store reservation system was a raffle). It only got better within the past two weeks. You can walk in and buy at an Apple Retail Store, and others like JB and DSE are selling the 16GB model outright.
  - bad_user 14y ago
    I'm not from Australia, but I got a Google account with a credit card before getting an iTunes account, even though I owned an iPod for years before getting an Android. It's true nonetheless that iTunes has more people hooked up because of iPods, but it's only a temporary problem and I don't really think there are many young people with a credit card anyway. On the technical nature of Android developers and free equivalents, personally I tend to get paid apps. For instance I bought "Extreme Call Blocker", because blocking calls and SMS messages is difficult as Android's APIs for it are private and I couldn't find a free app that worked well. I also got "GreenPower Premium" for saving battery, because such an app saves you money (I needed more battery life and the alternative would have been to replace my phone). I also bought "Paper Camera" because it's a fun app and cheaper than one coffee. In truth there aren't many free apps that are worthwhile, most of the useful ones being clients of online services.
    - JimmyAustin 14y ago
      As a 18 year old Australian, virtually everyone I know (my age) possesses a debit card, which is virtually the same for purchasing most things. Mastercard start giving them out when you are 16, so most young people have them. That is also the age most people start getting more expensive phones, but my opinion might be skewed by the fact that the iPhone came out in Australia when I was roughly that age.
    - css771 14y ago
      I'm not very knowledgeable on the matter. Maybe you can enlighten me. Can an open source OS actually have private API's?
- btilly 14y ago
  There is a lot of data supporting your claim. But the key point is for now. Given current market trends, in the not too distant future there will be more money in Android. (Particularly since you don't need to give Apple a 30% cut.)
  - luke_s 14y ago
    Actually if you want to sell apps through the Google play store you still need to give google a 30% cut [1]. With android you always do have the option to try through other app stores, or just allowing users to download the .apk from your website. However given how few people actually look anywhere else but the play store, you are going to take a hit much larger than 30% if you are not in google play. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Play#Applications http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Play#Applications
    - btilly 14y ago
      Really? Wow. But at least you have the option of not using their app store. And I doubt that they are as draconian as Apple about in-app additional purchases for apps in their store.
      - czhiddy 14y ago
        Sure, you have the option of not using their app store. Any sane developer would realize that its financial suicide to ignore Google Play and release a purely sideloaded-apk app (or through Amazon's store, for that matter). Google charges the same 30% transaction fee for in-app purchases as well, though I don't know what their policy is regarding Dropbox/Kindle/Skydrive-type apps.
        fpgeek 14y ago
        From what I understand the policy is roughly: If you are selling something that can be used "outside" your Android app, then you are not required to use Google's payment processor and you can avoid the 30% cut. Amazon (and other ebook vendors) use this to sell books directly from their reader apps. I'm not sure what Dropbox, SkyDrive, etc do.
- untog 14y ago
  While I think you're right about average app expenditure, when we're talking about a 70-75% market share, I think the sheer numbers outweigh that. I know that some time back there were complains that the Android Market wasn't making anyone money, but I think that's changed these days. And Samsung appear to be doing a great job of marketing a premium Android phone that will attract big spenders.
  - taligent 14y ago
    None of what you said is true. Firstly the market share does not automatically translate into more app sales. http://www.androidauthority.com/developer-economics-128916/ http://www.androidauthority.com/developer-economics-128916/ Secondly having Samsung in the market means nothing. It's the ability to sideload apps that is reason for the high piracy rate and less willingness to pay for apps.
    - w1ntermute 14y ago
      > It's the ability to sideload apps that is reason for the high piracy rate and less willingness to pay for apps. This hasn't been true at all in my experience. Whereas it's very easy to jailbreak an iOS device and set up a 3rd party app store with pirated applications, having to manually download and sideload APKs on Android phones makes it much more difficult to pirate apps. In fact, I know several iOS users who have pirated all their apps, but I don't know any Android users who have.
- JuDue 14y ago
  True, not every Android phone is positioning itself as a powerhouse smart device. As such, buying a cheap Android device today may not tell us much about OS loyalty? May be a mute point. Windows saturated the world for decades and people just used it because it swamped them of choice..... that still worked very much in Microsofts favour, and may ultimately mean Android/Adsense wins.
codeka 14y ago
Australians have always been big Apple users, in my experience. Despite seeing statistics showing increasing share of Android, I always only ever saw Apple devices on the bus/train. Not very scientific, I know, but I have noticed more and more Android devices whenever I'm on the train in recent months.
- kaliblack 14y ago
  I see the same thing, but here's some numbers to back up what we're seeing: http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-AU-monthly-201112-201211 http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-AU-monthly-201112-20121... The jaws are closing, but slowly.
  - CommitPull 14y ago
    But the title says "has overtaken." That's not overtaken by far is it?
freakyterrorist 14y ago
Does this really surprise anyone? The cheapest you can buy an iPhone (4 outright) is $450AUD and contracted plans with newer iPhones start at around $50-60AUD per month. Android are outright starting at $49 and available at all spend levels on plans. To be honest what's surprising is it took this long...
- codeka 14y ago
  > To be honest what's surprising is it took this long... I agree. I think this goes to show just how much Australians are willing to pay for technology in general. It's a shame that we get shafted on a lot of technology/electronics but the fact is that people are willing to pay.
  - jbarham 14y ago
    Speaking as a Canadian transplant to Australia via the US, the Australian mobile market is actually quite competitive compared to the US or Canada. There are more operators relative to the population, there are more shorter-term plans (i.e., 1 year vs. 2 or 3) and the monthly rates are decent.
    - dorian-graph 14y ago
      Most plans are 2 years.
      - JuDue 14y ago
        Optus and Telstra both allow you to choose your payback plan and rate? So yearly is always possible, even if not seen on the posters.
DigitalSea 14y ago
I wonder if this has something to do with the economy? Apple devices are expensive while on the contrary, you can get a prepaid Android phone starting at $49 in Australia with a camera and ability to download apps. I'm surprised it's taken this long, we always pay twice sometimes three times more than our American counterparts for shiny Apple gadgets (let alone everything else), I guess the appeal of Apple products are starting to become lost on us Aussies.
- beamso 14y ago
  Apple's pricing in Australia is generally very competitive. I know for laptops you pay significantly more in Australia for brands like Lenovo (in comparison with their USA pricing).
  - mwill 14y ago
    On iPhone pricing in Australia, can someone let me know if this is a contract thing, like hidden costs on the US version, because the US store lists the cheapest iPhone 5 as $199, where the AU store lists it as $799. $199USD =~ $189AUD. On the face of it it seems pretty unfair, is there something I'm missing?
    - codeka 14y ago
      $799 is the outright price: that is, not on a contract. If you buy one one a contract you might pay $5 per month over 24 months (depending on the plan and model you get).
      - mwill 14y ago
        Thanks, I had a suspicion this might be it, I don't suppose you've got any idea why Apple sell/advertise them in a contract by default there but not here?
        whatusername 14y ago
        So Going to Tesltra: http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/iphone/ http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/iphone... or Optus: https://www.optus.com.au/shop/iphone https://www.optus.com.au/shop/iphone or Vodaphone: http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/iphone/home/iphone-5 http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/iphone/home/iphone-5 the iPhone 5 is FREE* (*With Monthly payments of $50-$100 on a 2 year contract)
gshahlot 14y ago
I am not sure why exactly is this a big deal and even surprising. Apple's iOS sells on limited hardware and they do a release annually or lately semi-annually. On the other hand, there is a new worthy Android device coming out every two weeks from big shots like Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson to name a few. So it was only a matter of time before Android caught up with iOS and captured the market.
jwhite 14y ago
For those who missed it, this is the most important paragraph in the article: "It's a tablet Christmas there's no doubt about that," said Ben Mcintosh, general manager of technology and entertainment at Harvey Norman. "There is no doubt in my mind that we will sell out of just about every tablet we have in stock by the end of the month." I'd better go out and get mine before they run out! See: http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
JimmaDaRustla 14y ago
This makes me happy since Apple made Samsung miss out on sales last holiday season.
- JuDue 14y ago
  Samsung made itself miss out.
  - JimmaDaRustla 14y ago
    Reasoning required.
JuDue 14y ago
Android is the new Feature Phone in some ways (as well as high end models too). Google always intended saturation to prop up their Ad model. Interesting to hear stirrings of Apple iterating faster. Apple already pwn the market profit-wise. But do they need to fend of a competitive OS which aims to saturate? Or can they live side by side? And nudge out Windows phone together?

67 points by nreece 14y ago

I see a lot about Android having a high market share. I've seen numbers like 70-75%. But I think Apple buyers are more affluent and buy more apps even though their market share is only 20%. A lot of people who used to have feature phones or buy the cheapest pre paid phones they can get, now get android phones. Virgin Mobile has one for like $60 my in-laws have. So my point is, while the high android market share is there, as an app developer, the market share in relation to app usage and spend is still skewed towards Apple for now.

batiudrami 14y ago
At the same time, I don't see very many iPhone 5s around - I only know one person who has one (though they can be difficult to differentiate from the 4/4S), whereas it seems like everyone has a Galaxy S2 or S3. The S2 really caught on in Australia due to some very agressive pricing. I'd say I see as many S2/S3s around as iPhones (and probably more than iPhone amongst younger people). They're everywhere. That being said, there is an additional layer of difficulty when it comes to purchasing apps on Android that iPhone doesn't have - most people had an iPod and one point and have an iTunes store account set up already, possibly with some credit already on it (ITMS gift cards were popular presents for a while). Play store requires you to enter your credit card on a new account, which I suspect is a significant barrier to app purchases for many people, out of caution or laziness. Also, due to the more technical nature of the Android developer crowd, with the exception of games, there is almost always a free equivalent to paid apps which are as good or almost as good.
- beamso 14y ago
  The iPhone 5 was very difficult to walk in and buy without taking out a two year contract (the Apple Retail Store reservation system was a raffle). It only got better within the past two weeks. You can walk in and buy at an Apple Retail Store, and others like JB and DSE are selling the 16GB model outright.
- bad_user 14y ago
  I'm not from Australia, but I got a Google account with a credit card before getting an iTunes account, even though I owned an iPod for years before getting an Android. It's true nonetheless that iTunes has more people hooked up because of iPods, but it's only a temporary problem and I don't really think there are many young people with a credit card anyway. On the technical nature of Android developers and free equivalents, personally I tend to get paid apps. For instance I bought "Extreme Call Blocker", because blocking calls and SMS messages is difficult as Android's APIs for it are private and I couldn't find a free app that worked well. I also got "GreenPower Premium" for saving battery, because such an app saves you money (I needed more battery life and the alternative would have been to replace my phone). I also bought "Paper Camera" because it's a fun app and cheaper than one coffee. In truth there aren't many free apps that are worthwhile, most of the useful ones being clients of online services.
  - JimmyAustin 14y ago
    As a 18 year old Australian, virtually everyone I know (my age) possesses a debit card, which is virtually the same for purchasing most things. Mastercard start giving them out when you are 16, so most young people have them. That is also the age most people start getting more expensive phones, but my opinion might be skewed by the fact that the iPhone came out in Australia when I was roughly that age.
  - css771 14y ago
    I'm not very knowledgeable on the matter. Maybe you can enlighten me. Can an open source OS actually have private API's?
btilly 14y ago
There is a lot of data supporting your claim. But the key point is for now. Given current market trends, in the not too distant future there will be more money in Android. (Particularly since you don't need to give Apple a 30% cut.)
- luke_s 14y ago
  Actually if you want to sell apps through the Google play store you still need to give google a 30% cut [1]. With android you always do have the option to try through other app stores, or just allowing users to download the .apk from your website. However given how few people actually look anywhere else but the play store, you are going to take a hit much larger than 30% if you are not in google play. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Play#Applications http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Play#Applications
  - btilly 14y ago
    Really? Wow. But at least you have the option of not using their app store. And I doubt that they are as draconian as Apple about in-app additional purchases for apps in their store.
    - czhiddy 14y ago
      Sure, you have the option of not using their app store. Any sane developer would realize that its financial suicide to ignore Google Play and release a purely sideloaded-apk app (or through Amazon's store, for that matter). Google charges the same 30% transaction fee for in-app purchases as well, though I don't know what their policy is regarding Dropbox/Kindle/Skydrive-type apps.
      - fpgeek 14y ago
        From what I understand the policy is roughly: If you are selling something that can be used "outside" your Android app, then you are not required to use Google's payment processor and you can avoid the 30% cut. Amazon (and other ebook vendors) use this to sell books directly from their reader apps. I'm not sure what Dropbox, SkyDrive, etc do.
untog 14y ago
While I think you're right about average app expenditure, when we're talking about a 70-75% market share, I think the sheer numbers outweigh that. I know that some time back there were complains that the Android Market wasn't making anyone money, but I think that's changed these days. And Samsung appear to be doing a great job of marketing a premium Android phone that will attract big spenders.
- taligent 14y ago
  None of what you said is true. Firstly the market share does not automatically translate into more app sales. http://www.androidauthority.com/developer-economics-128916/ http://www.androidauthority.com/developer-economics-128916/ Secondly having Samsung in the market means nothing. It's the ability to sideload apps that is reason for the high piracy rate and less willingness to pay for apps.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    > It's the ability to sideload apps that is reason for the high piracy rate and less willingness to pay for apps. This hasn't been true at all in my experience. Whereas it's very easy to jailbreak an iOS device and set up a 3rd party app store with pirated applications, having to manually download and sideload APKs on Android phones makes it much more difficult to pirate apps. In fact, I know several iOS users who have pirated all their apps, but I don't know any Android users who have.
JuDue 14y ago
True, not every Android phone is positioning itself as a powerhouse smart device. As such, buying a cheap Android device today may not tell us much about OS loyalty? May be a mute point. Windows saturated the world for decades and people just used it because it swamped them of choice..... that still worked very much in Microsofts favour, and may ultimately mean Android/Adsense wins.

codeka 14y ago

Australians have always been big Apple users, in my experience. Despite seeing statistics showing increasing share of Android, I always only ever saw Apple devices on the bus/train. Not very scientific, I know, but I have noticed more and more Android devices whenever I'm on the train in recent months.

kaliblack 14y ago
I see the same thing, but here's some numbers to back up what we're seeing: http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-AU-monthly-201112-201211 http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-AU-monthly-201112-20121... The jaws are closing, but slowly.
- CommitPull 14y ago
  But the title says "has overtaken." That's not overtaken by far is it?

freakyterrorist 14y ago

Does this really surprise anyone? The cheapest you can buy an iPhone (4 outright) is $450AUD and contracted plans with newer iPhones start at around $50-60AUD per month. Android are outright starting at $49 and available at all spend levels on plans. To be honest what's surprising is it took this long...

codeka 14y ago
> To be honest what's surprising is it took this long... I agree. I think this goes to show just how much Australians are willing to pay for technology in general. It's a shame that we get shafted on a lot of technology/electronics but the fact is that people are willing to pay.
- jbarham 14y ago
  Speaking as a Canadian transplant to Australia via the US, the Australian mobile market is actually quite competitive compared to the US or Canada. There are more operators relative to the population, there are more shorter-term plans (i.e., 1 year vs. 2 or 3) and the monthly rates are decent.
  - dorian-graph 14y ago
    Most plans are 2 years.
    - JuDue 14y ago
      Optus and Telstra both allow you to choose your payback plan and rate? So yearly is always possible, even if not seen on the posters.

DigitalSea 14y ago

I wonder if this has something to do with the economy? Apple devices are expensive while on the contrary, you can get a prepaid Android phone starting at $49 in Australia with a camera and ability to download apps. I'm surprised it's taken this long, we always pay twice sometimes three times more than our American counterparts for shiny Apple gadgets (let alone everything else), I guess the appeal of Apple products are starting to become lost on us Aussies.

beamso 14y ago
Apple's pricing in Australia is generally very competitive. I know for laptops you pay significantly more in Australia for brands like Lenovo (in comparison with their USA pricing).
- mwill 14y ago
  On iPhone pricing in Australia, can someone let me know if this is a contract thing, like hidden costs on the US version, because the US store lists the cheapest iPhone 5 as $199, where the AU store lists it as $799. $199USD =~ $189AUD. On the face of it it seems pretty unfair, is there something I'm missing?
  - codeka 14y ago
    $799 is the outright price: that is, not on a contract. If you buy one one a contract you might pay $5 per month over 24 months (depending on the plan and model you get).
    - mwill 14y ago
      Thanks, I had a suspicion this might be it, I don't suppose you've got any idea why Apple sell/advertise them in a contract by default there but not here?
      - whatusername 14y ago
        So Going to Tesltra: http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/iphone/ http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/mobile-phones/iphone... or Optus: https://www.optus.com.au/shop/iphone https://www.optus.com.au/shop/iphone or Vodaphone: http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/iphone/home/iphone-5 http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/iphone/home/iphone-5 the iPhone 5 is FREE* (*With Monthly payments of $50-$100 on a 2 year contract)

gshahlot 14y ago

I am not sure why exactly is this a big deal and even surprising. Apple's iOS sells on limited hardware and they do a release annually or lately semi-annually. On the other hand, there is a new worthy Android device coming out every two weeks from big shots like Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson to name a few. So it was only a matter of time before Android caught up with iOS and captured the market.

jwhite 14y ago

For those who missed it, this is the most important paragraph in the article: "It's a tablet Christmas there's no doubt about that," said Ben Mcintosh, general manager of technology and entertainment at Harvey Norman. "There is no doubt in my mind that we will sell out of just about every tablet we have in stock by the end of the month." I'd better go out and get mine before they run out! See: http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

JimmaDaRustla 14y ago

This makes me happy since Apple made Samsung miss out on sales last holiday season.

JuDue 14y ago
Samsung made itself miss out.
- JimmaDaRustla 14y ago
  Reasoning required.

JuDue 14y ago

Android is the new Feature Phone in some ways (as well as high end models too). Google always intended saturation to prop up their Ad model. Interesting to hear stirrings of Apple iterating faster. Apple already pwn the market profit-wise. But do they need to fend of a competitive OS which aims to saturate? Or can they live side by side? And nudge out Windows phone together?