April 2012 US mobile subscriber market share
The study surveyed more than 30,000 US mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.9% market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the US smartphone market, accounting for 50.8% of smartphone subscribers, while Apple captured 31.4%.
OEM market share
For the three-month average period ending in April, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.9% of US mobile subscribers (up 0.5 percentage points), followed by LG with 19.2% share. Apple continued to grow its share in the OEM market, ranking third with 14.4% (up 1.6 percentage points), followed by Motorola with 12.5% and HTC with 6.0%.
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Jan-12 | Apr-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Samsung | 25.4% | 25.9% | 0.5 |
| LG | 19.7% | 19.2% | -0.5 |
| Apple | 12.8% | 14.4% | 1.6 |
| Motorola | 13.2% | 12.5% | -0.7 |
| HTC | 6.4% | 6.0% | -0.4 |
Smartphone platform market share
More than 107 million people in the US owned smartphones during the three months ending in April, up 6% versus January. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 50.8% market share (up 2.2 percentage points). Apple's share of the smartphone market increased 1.9 percentage points to 31.4%. RIM ranked third with 11.6% share, followed by Microsoft (4.0%) and Symbian (1.3%).
| Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012 Total US Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers | |||
| Jan-12 | Apr-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| 48.6% | 50.8% | 2.2 | |
| Apple | 29.5% | 31.4% | 1.9 |
| RIM | 15.2% | 11.6% | -3.6 |
| Microsoft | 4.4% | 4.0% | -0.4 |
| Symbian | 1.5% | 1.3% | -0.2 |
Mobile content usage
In April, 74.1% of US mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Downloaded applications were used by 50.2% of subscribers (up 1.6 percentage points), while browsers were used by 49.0% (up 0.5 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.3 percentage points to 36.0% of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 33.1% of the mobile audience (up 1.3 percentage points), while 25.8% listened to music on their phones (up 1.3 percentage points).
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Jan-12 | Apr-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 74.6% | 74.1% | -0.5 |
| Used downloaded apps | 48.6% | 50.2% | 1.6 |
| Used browser | 48.5% | 49.0% | 0.5 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 35.7% | 36.0% | 0.3 |
| Played Games | 31.8% | 33.1% | 1.3 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 24.5% | 25.8% | 1.3 |