Android OS Deemed Hotter than iOS

It’s a popularity contest, and Android is the cool kid in school. Sure, we’re biased (this is Android Headlines, after all), but we’re not the only ones who think so.

BIGinsight conducted a customer service in regard to mobile phone operating systems where consumers were asked if both Apple’s iOS and Android’s OS were “hot” or “not.” Not exactly the most scientific of all surveys, but it still came across with plenty of interesting data. (It’s important to note that consumers weren’t asked to directly compare the two OS systems but to evaluate whether both systems were “hot.” This little tidbit will help the results make more sense.)

Consumers voted Android “hot” at a slightly higher percentage in the overall category, but the numbers varied more when broken down by generation. Overall, 53% of a sample of 9,000 adults 18+ rated Android positively, and 51.4% of the same group rated Apple well.

Of the Millennials (a.k.a “Gen Y”), 64% recognized that Android was doing well, and 61.95% fell that Apple was also doing a great job. Gen X felt the strongest about Android, giving Android 58.6% approval and Apple 53.4% approval. Boomers were mostly split down the middle in regards to the OS systems, while the “Silent” generation (born before 1946) sided with Apple (46.8% compared to 41.4% for Android).

What does all of this mean? Only old people use iPhones? No, that’s not what one survey can tell us, but it does show interesting opinions by age group. Public perception places Android’s system at higher rate of popularity among younger crowds, while older generations prefer Apple.

Going forward, both sides of the OS division need to figure out why their audiences feel the way they do. If Android is more popular because of customization, then Google needs to integrate it even further. Apple may even have to make some adjustments themselves if the preference toward Android continues to grow.

The other aspect to keep in mind with this is to consider who has the most spending power. Generally, older generations have more income, and they purchase larger gifts for younger generations. But, college kids have lots of discretionary income (even if they don’t admit it), and they might be able to convince relatives to buy them Android devices instead.

Source: BIGinsight