Android vs iPhone: Which One is Dominating the Smartphone Market?

• In 2024, Android dominates the global smartphone market with estimated 3.9 billion users, while iPhone users reach 1.56 billion.
• Android holds 70.89% of the worldwide market share, surpassing iOS's 28.37% as of April 2024.
• In the USA, iPhone leads with 59.21% market share, while Android follows with 40.41%.
• The App Store offers around 1.8 million apps, while Google Play Store provides about 2.44 million apps.
• Seven out of the top ten best-selling smartphones are iPhones, with the iPhone 14 leading at 3.9% market share.

There is always a strong competition between Android and Apple smartphones. Apple has their iPhone which has an iOS system while the Android system is available on many smartphones like Samsung, Huawei, etc. According to the stats, there are over 1.46 billion iPhone users in the world out of 2.2 billion other active Apple devices, while Android has 3 billion users. This article will discuss the statistics of the iPhone and Android market in detail.

Year	No. of Android users per year (in billions)
2024*	3.9 billion
2023*	3.6 billion
2022*	3.3 billion
2021	3 billion
2020	2.8 billion
2019	2.5 billion
2018	2.3 billion
2017	2 billion
2016	1.7 billion
2015	1.4 billion
2014	1 billion
2013	0.7 billion
2012	0.5 billion

.

Year	No. of iPhone Users
2024 (predicted)	1.56 billion
2023	1.46 billion
2022	1.36 billion
2021	1.23 billion
2020	1 billion
2019	0.948 billion
2018	0.888 billion
2017	0.814 billion
2016	0.71 billion
2015	0.569 billion
2014	0.442 billion
2013	0.329 billion
2012	0.206 billion
2011	0.115 billion
2010	0.06 billion

Stats Overview: Android vs iPhone

Worldwide Android has a bigger market share than Apple. As of April 2024, 70.89% of the total market share is of Android as compared to 28.37% of iPhone’s iOS (that is according to Statcounter).

Year	Android Market Share Worldwide In Percentage	iOS Market Share Worldwide In Percentage
2009	2.41	34.01
2010	8.82	25.48
2011	19	22.29
2012	27.41	24.04
2013	39.21	24.03
2014	53.65	23.95
2015	64.2	20.2
2016	69.11	19.29
2017	72.63	19.65
2018	75.45	20.47
2019	75.47	22.71
2020	73.06	26.28
2021	71.89	27.34
2022	71.47	27.85
2023	70.26	29.02
2024	70.89	28.37

Global OS Market Share: Android vs iPhone

As we discussed above, Android has 70.89% market share according to the latest data. The iPhone that runs on iOS has 28.37% market share right now. The market for Android got major bump in 2013, when it got 53.65% of the market share after most of the smartphones started running on it. Since then, Android has continued dominating the smartphone market. It has now become the most used mobile operating system in the world.

Market in the USA: Android vs iOS

If we talk about market share of Android and iPhone in the USA, iPhone is leading with 59.21% share as of April 2024. Android phones have a market share of 40.41% in the USA. When we look at the stats of previous years, the iPhone has always been leading in the USA. The highest recorded share of Android in the United States was in 2015 when it got 46.42% market share. But the iPhone was still dominating with 50.58% market share.

Year	iOS Market Share In Percentage (U.S.)	Android Market Share In Percentage (U.S.)
2009	57.9	6.16
2010	38.31	18.71
2011	38.33	35.32
2012	49.48	40.63
2013	52.79	39.25
2014	52.3	42.58
2015	50.85	46.42
2016	53.19	45.2
2017	53.89	45.23
2018	54.82	44.73
2019	55.23	44.51
2020	59.54	40.27
2021	58.58	41.11
2022	56.74	42.94
2023	58.1	41.46
2024	59.21	40.41

Apps Available on Android vs iPhone

In the App Store of iPhone, there are around 1.8 million apps available that can easily be downloaded on the smartphone. As of apps available on Play Store of Android smartphones, there are about 2.44 million apps available.

Best Selling Smartphones: Android or iPhone?

According to CounterPoint Research, seven out of ten best selling smartphones are iPhones which are running on iOS. Only the three smartphones are Android. The top best selling smartphone is iPhone 14 with 3.9% market share, followed by iPhone 14 Pro Max with 2.8% share. The third best selling smartphone is iPhone 14 Pro with 2.4% market share and fourth best selling is iPhone 13 with 2.2% share. The next best selling smartphones are iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 with 1.7%, 1.4% and 1.4% market share respectively.

The seventh best selling smartphone on the top ten list is Galaxy A14 5G which runs on Android system. It also has 1.4% market share. Galaxy A04e and Galaxy A14 4G are ninth and tenth best selling smartphones with both of them having 1.3% market share.

Smartphone (Operating System)	Market Share
iPhone 14 (iOS)	3.9%
iPhone 14 Pro Max (iOS)	2.8%
iPhone 14 Pro (iOS)	2.4%
iPhone 13 (iOS)	2.2%
iPhone 15 Pro Max (iOS)	1.7%
iPhone 15 Pro (iOS)	1.4%
iPhone 15 (iOS)	1.4%
Galaxy A14 5G (Android)	1.4%
Galaxy A04e (Android)	1.3%
Galaxy A14 4G (Android)	1.3%

To put it simply, all these numbers show how Android and iPhone are constantly competing for our attention. Whether it's the huge number of users or which phones are selling the most, it's a big battle out there. And as we look ahead, these numbers give us a glimpse of what's to come in the world of smartphones.

Read next: YouTube Dominates Global Google Searches in 2024, Followed by Facebook, Weather, and Amazon

by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Should You Get Your iPhone Repaired from an Unofficial Store or an Official Apple Repair Shop?

Mrwhosetheboss (Arun Rupesh Maini) uploaded a video on YouTube where he destroyed the back and screen of three brand new iPhone 15s at the same place in the same way. He then brought each pair to a different iPhone repairer. He gave the first iPhone to the local repairer who was charging the minimum cost and the second iPhone to the repairer who was charging the fair price. The third iPhone 15 went straight to Apple authorized store for repairing. The purpose of this experiment was to see who repairs the iPhone the cheapest and who does it the best.

He chose a repairer who was repairing the screen for £180 and £75 for the back cover as the lowest cost. He gave one phone to a repair shop who was authorized by Apple to repair iPhones. The cost of the repair was £300 for the screen and £150 for the back. Apple’s official repair shop quoted a total price of £399 for screen as well as back repair.

Image: PR MEDIA/Unsplash

After going to the official Apple repair shop, Maini found out that the total cost of repair for iPhone’s screen and back is £468 and repair time is 3 working days. iPhone’s 15 repair is cheaper than other iPhone models because Apple has started using a new design module for its new Apple phones that allow an easy repair. When you get your iPhone repaired from an official Apple repair store, you get a message on your iPhone telling you that the iPhone has a genuine Apple display.

The results of the repair came out and the iPhone which got repaired from an official store was definitely repaired best in terms of finishing quality with the original parts. But the downside of this was that you need to get an appointment for the repair first and have to wait a few days for the iPhone to get repaired. A user commented that "The funny part isn’t that it’s ridiculously easy to break, but the company’s who make them do everything to make them as hard to fix as possible". Mrwhosetheboss spent 7 days for the iPhone to get repaired from the official repair shop in £468. The middle option for the iPhone did not go as planned. The repairers couldn’t find the iPhone 15 parts and the Tech YouTuber had to get it back as it was. Even with the repair, you could most likely get the message that the iPhone parts aren’t genuine and there was no warranty after that.

• Also read: eMarketer Report Shows US Brands Spending Billions in Sponsoring Content But Having No Remarkable Growth

The cheapest option for the iPhone repair costed £255 and the repair time was just one day. The iPhone’s back was glued and the screen also had some cracks and the overall display wasn’t smooth. This repair option is suitable for people who don’t want to give £400 for the repair. But the best option for iPhone repair is Apple’s official repair store.



Read next: Analytical Thinking, Creativity in Jobs Benefit Long-Term Brain Health, Research Shows
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Analytical Thinking, Creativity in Jobs Benefit Long-Term Brain Health, Research Shows

Choosing a job that keeps your brain busy could be key to staying sharp as you age. Research from Norway suggests that having a mentally challenging job might help keep your memory and thinking skills strong as you get older. This means your job isn’t about paying the bills; it could also be like a workout for your brain.

In the study, over 7000 people with various jobs were looked at. Their jobs were grouped into four categories based on how much thinking they required. Then, the researchers tracked whether these people had memory and thinking problems after they turned 70.

People with less mentally stimulating jobs, like mail carriers or custodians, were more likely to have memory and thinking problems later in life. But those with more engaging jobs, like teaching, had lower rates of these problems.

Even after considering things like education and lifestyle, people with less mentally stimulating jobs were more likely to have memory and thinking problems as they got older. This suggests that having a job that challenges your brain could be important for your long term brain health.

Jobs that involve analyzing information, creative thinking, interpreting data, building relationships, motivating teams, and learning new skills seem to be good for your brain’s health. So, whether you're starting your career, thinking about changing jobs, or enjoying retirement, it's important to choose activities and projects that keep your brain active. This could be like an insurance policy for your brain's health in the future.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Outdated Skills Spark Worry Among Employed Americans, Survey Reveals
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

YouTube Dominates Global Google Searches in 2024, Followed by Facebook, Weather, and Amazon

SimilarWeb analyzed its data to find out what are the most searched things on Google in 2024 so far. The top most searched thing on Google in 2024 is YouTube with 99.60% organic traffic and 336,261,050 average monthly search volume (AMSV). Facebook (229,238,150 AMSV) was in the second spot, followed by Weather (147.67 million AMSV) and Amazon (147.13 million AMSV). Amazon only had 64.65% organic traffic with 35.35% paid traffic. Instagram (101.8 million AMSV) is among the top 10 most searched thing on Google in 2024 so far, while 9th place is taken up by WhatsApp Web with 101.8 million average monthly search volume. Other things that made it to the top 20 of most searched queries on Google in 2024 were Google Translate, NBA, ChatGPT, X/Twitter and Google Maps.

Google Searches (Worldwide), Excluding Unsafe Sites	Average Monthly Search Volume
youtube	336.26 M
facebook	229.24 M
weather	147.67 M
amazon	147.14 M
translate	128.81 M
gmail	109.15 M
instagram	101.88 M
whatsapp web	100.71 M
google translate	94.62 M
nba	94.17 M
traductor	87.04 M
chatgpt	87.00 M
twitter	85.95 M
google	72.46 M
premier league	61.05 M
google maps	57.83 M
ipl	56.63 M
chat gpt	51.54 M
wordle	49.91 M
serie a	49.59 M

In the USA, ‘weather’ (83,560,180 AMSV) was the most searched thing while YouTube came in second spot with 71,303,520 AMSV. Amazon was the third most searched thing on Google in 2024 in the USA with 70.35% paid traffic. NBA, Wordle, Gmail, NFL and Walmart also made it to the top 10 list of most searched terms on Google in the USA. ChatGPT was the 13th most searched thing in the USA with 99.97% organic traffic. Twitter, eBay and Home Depot were also in the top 20 list of most searched things on Google in 2024.

Weather, with 18,657,900 AMSV, was the most searched thing on Google in the UK too in 2024 so far. BBC News, YouTube and Facebook were the second, third and fourth most searched topics on Google in the UK respectively. The sixth most searched thing on Google in the UK in 2024 was Amazon with 64.35% organic traffic. Gmail and Premier League were in seventh and eighth spot while Amazon UK and Wordle were in ninth and tenth spot. Other words in the top 20 most searched things on Google in the UK were Daily Mail, Hotmail and Translate. Twitter was the 15th most searched thing on Google in the UK. Arsenal was the 20th most searched thing in the UK on Google.

These search behaviors show that even though YouTube was the most searched keyword on Google worldwide, Google itself got the most traffic. 41% of the top 100 searches on Google were navigational, 13% were informational while 40% were of mixed intent.

Read next: Google's Top Spots: ccTLDs Command 56%, Subdirectories 20%, Subdomains 3%
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Super-Colleague AI: Sam Altman Envisions Intelligent Assistants for Everyone

Sam Altman envisions AI as your ultimate sidekick, knowing everything about you without feeling invasive. It's like having a "super-competent colleague" who doesn't need constant hand-holding. This AI should dive into tasks headfirst, tackling the simple stuff effortlessly and taking a crack at the more complex ones, only bothering you if it hits a snag.

Altman's goal isn't just to create another chatbot; he wants AI to be a real-world problem solver. Right now, OpenAI's offerings, like ChatGPT, are useful but not quite up to Altman's standards. Despite being dubbed "dumbest model" by Altman himself, ChatGPT is already helping workers with various tasks, from coding to email writing. But there's excitement brewing about what's next.

Altman hasn't spilled the beans on when this dream AI will hit the market or how advanced it needs to be. While OpenAI's current tools like Sora and DALL-E are impressive, they still require significant human guidance. However, there's hope on the horizon with GPT's next model (that could be GPT-5), OpenAI's upcoming language model.

• Also read: The Innovation Game: Who's Winning the Patent Race in America?

GPT's upcoming model promises to be a significant leap forward, according to insiders who've caught a glimpse of its capabilities. There's even talk of a service where users can instruct an AI agent to handle tasks autonomously. While rumors suggest GPT-5 could arrive mid-year, Altman remains tight-lipped, simply responding with a cryptic "Yes" when questioned about its release date at a recent event in Massachusetts.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: FBI Issues Warning As Cyber Scams Targeting Senior Citizens On The Rise
by Web Desk via Digital Information World

FBI Issues Warning As Cyber Scams Targeting Senior Citizens On The Rise

A new FBI report is rolling out a stark warning to the world about how cyber scams are on the rise and they’re targeting elderly individuals.

Those above the age of 60 are being tricked into the scam that has now allowed online criminals to attain their profits through channels where vulnerable victims have no idea about what’s going on.

The figure for losses has gone up to $3.4 billion in just 2023 alone and that’s more than an 11% rise from the previous year as proven by records. Furthermore, the attacks are said to be variable, and elderly victims are said to be easy prey as they’re not accustomed to technology and its drawbacks as well as others.

On Thursday, we saw the Elderly Fraud Report speak about tech support scams featuring a single fraud affecting seniors in 2023 alone, and that entailed crypto and investment ordeals. There were reports about user data getting breached while dating scams and those linked to taking on votes of confidence were also included to be a part of the popular list.

As a whole, we’re saying hello to various kinds of cyber crimes affecting those above 60, and the stats were compared over three years and more to better garner awareness on how this kind of fraud could be fought.

Usually, criminals like using extortion and phishing to attain their financial goals but spoofing and others have also been enlisted as popular ordeals to carry out fraud online.

These scams usually don’t get reported by senior citizens as commonly when you compare the same thing happening with younger age groups who are more active. And let’s not forget how amongst all victim groups, it’s the seniors who were at the top of the list. There are close to 101k complaints on this front that were rolled out by the FBI in a report.

Thankfully, those under the age of 20 are less targeted but the FBI does fear the stats could be higher as close to half of victims fail to generate a complaint with law enforcement agencies to begin with. There’s also an embarrassment factor worth a mention where people usually don’t report as they feel others would judge them or the matter would not be kept private any longer.

Meanwhile, the average loss noted for each elderly individual was highlighted to be $34k per victim and that’s a lot. Nearly 6000 people were losing $100k from their senior lifetime spending and it’s sad to see that.

Amongst the American states most impacted by such frauds, it’s Florida and California that keep getting targeted. Their losses can go up to $620 million and $181 million.

Now the financial impact that this has on victims leads to empty accounts during retirement, more loans as victims have to borrow from others, and also foreclosed residences. What is even more devastating is how the FBI found that scams involving the elderly were one of the most costly out there with losses going beyond $1.2 billion.

Some of the greatest schemes to have ever involved the elderly were also delineated in the latest report by the FBI. This included an investment scam, a tech support scam, a romance scam, and even a crypto scam. Bad actors feel older people are more vulnerable and therefore they try to exploit them as much as possible. They can even do that by impersonating government officials or acting like they represent a specific call center.

Last year, South Carolina seniors reported losses of more than $7.3 million to tech support scams, according to the '23 Elder Fraud Report. Tech support schemes are common tactic used against the elderly population. Learn more so you can be on the lookout: https://t.co/yBvWqxWV9T pic.twitter.com/P856eP7nhZ

— FBI Columbia (@FBIColumbia) May 3, 2024

The FBI was also kind enough to list down a list of protocols and guidelines that could be followed. Cyber crimes are on the rise and the only way they can be brought down is by following guidelines to keep them at bay.

One of the first things to be mindful of is realizing that you’re at threat and getting targeted so if that’s the case, shut calls or don’t respond to texts from unknown identities. Next, any service offers or emails that seem dubious must be reported or verified from the source following a command.

If you get a gift card or extra money or an offer that seems too tempting to refuse, remember that it could do you more harm than good in the long run.

Read next: Understanding Passkeys: A Simpler, Safer Way to Log in
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Study Finds Mindfulness and Experiential Avoidance Impact Smartphone Usage

According to a new study published in International Journal of Yoga, the researchers from India have found that practicing mindfulness can mitigate the negative effects of excessive smartphone use. The study elaborates further that if an individual is mindful, he can easily avoid using his smartphone too much but if an individual tends to avoid unpleasant situations, the use of smartphone by him can be increased up to 25%. The excessive use of the smartphone is responsible for many of our negative behavioral traits and it can interfere with our daily lives. Mindfulness refers to the state of being where an individual is aware of his thoughts, feelings and what’s happening around his environment.

A psychological concept called experiential avoidance is related to this study. It means that an individual ignores his feelings, thoughts and other sensation by going to addictive measures, like using too much smartphone as long as it is helping him avoid other situations in his life. The author of the study, Manoj Kumar Sharma, said that this study is done after taking in mind the use of smartphones under two conditions– mindfulness and experiential avoidance. Both of these conditions are opposite to each other. Mindfulness means staying in a situation whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, while experiential avoidance means disassociating from a situation for your peace of mind.

He also added that mindfulness and experiential avoidance are both studied in psychology and our purpose of study is to know more about how they are linked with the use of the smartphone. The researchers did the survey of 434 Indians between the ages of 18 to 30 by giving them standardized questionnaires with questions about use of the smartphones, mindfulness and experiential avoidance. The results showed that higher levels of experiential avoidance are linked with excessive use of smartphones. On the other hand, higher levels of mindfulness were linked with balanced use of smartphones. Even if an individual is posing mindfulness traits, he can still get addicted to the smartphone if he starts showing experiential traits.

The study also found that individuals with smartphone addictions were the one who were living alone or in a nuclear set up. Experiential avoidance was also detected in those who were living in nuclear and joint families. The study is also impacted by cultural factors that make a family involved in pleasant and unpleasant situations of an individual’s lives.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Outdated Skills Spark Worry Among Employed Americans, Survey Reveals
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World