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iOS activations trump Android at 230,000 per day

updated 02:55 pm EDT, Wed September 1, 2010

Apple fires back at Google activation claims


Apple during its September 1 event directly took on Google's claims of having 160,000 activations per day. Company chief Steve Jobs joked that others "throw out a lot of numbers" but said Apple was activating 230,000 iOS devices per day. He added that, unlike Google's figures, this didn't include OS upgrades.

The claims are largely accurate as Google, like Apple, doesn't make a distinction between the natures of the devices it's activating. Almost all Android activations are smartphones, while Apple's is a mixture of iPads, iPhones and iPod touch players. Android tablets won't factor heavily into Google's lineup until this fall, when the Samsung Galaxy Tab and other non-phone devices start shipping.

Google is still believed to have overtaken iPhones in shipments, but the new figures show much higher overall use of iOS among all devices. Jobs added that Apple has shipped over 120 million iOS devices since they went on sale in 2007 and that the App Store is much busier, as over 6.5 billion app downloads have taken place since July 2008. The rate is now sitting at 200 apps per second.


By Electronista Staff

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iPod, iPhone, industry, Google, Android, mobile phones, Apple, iPad

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  1. testudo

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    Joined: Aug 2001

    -13
    09/01, 02:59pm | report spam | reply

    Yes...

    Because all those other companies just throw out numbers, but Apple's numbers can be trusted!


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  1. testudo

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    09/01, 03:00pm | report spam | reply

    What???

    He added that, unlike Google's figures, this didn't include OS upgrades.

    What is Steve smoking? We all know (from reading all the user reports here of Android fragmentation) that most Android devices aren't updateable. So how could Google's numbers include updates?


  1. Manhamma

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    +3
    09/01, 03:06pm | report spam | reply

    @testudo

    I thought he said upgrades, not updates. At first I took his statement to only include iPhone activations, but... what does that 230,000 actually refer to? 230,000 new i-devices being plugged into iTunes each day? And I thought that a sizable portion of Android devices were supported for one OS upgrade, so that may account for Jobs' statement about inclusion of updates in Google's 160k number.


  1. ruel24

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    +8
    09/01, 03:07pm | report spam | reply

    Everyone BUT Android lovers knew iOS is more popul

    Seriously, who doubted that iOS is more popular than Android? Does the world sit and hold their breath when Google announces a new version of Android? Or when Motorola, HTC, or Samsung release a new phone/tablet? NO! But...everyone is anxious to see what the next great thing out of Cupertino is!


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  1. testudo

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    09/01, 03:27pm | report spam | (2 replies) | reply

    Re: Everyone BUT Android lovers knew iOS is more p

    Seriously, who doubted that iOS is more popular than Android?

    No one ever did. Google didn't come out and say "Android is more popular than iOS!". All they said was number of activations.

    But the Apple faithful and their usual under-fire complex just assumes they're trying to say more than they are.

    Does the world sit and hold their breath when Google announces a new version of Android? Or when Motorola, HTC, or Samsung release a new phone/tablet? NO! But...everyone is anxious to see what the next great thing out of Cupertino is!

    Sorry to break it to you, but it's mostly the fanboys who wait on bated breath for the next great thing coming from Apple. Most of the world probably had no clue Apple was holding an event.

    Just like there are Android fanboys who wait anxiously for the next big announcement over there.


  1. testudo

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    09/01, 03:29pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    Re: @testudo

    I thought he said upgrades, not updates. At first I took his statement to only include iPhone activations, but... what does that 230,000 actually refer to? 230,000 new i-devices being plugged into iTunes each day?

    No idea. You know what Steve said. "Companies like to throw numbers around".

    And if someone buys a new iPhone, the phone is activated (thus a new activation), though it really is just an upgrade for the user.

    And I thought that a sizable portion of Android devices were supported for one OS upgrade, so that may account for Jobs' statement about inclusion of updates in Google's 160k number.

    But I keep reading here that all those Android device makers keep abandoning their users and never offer updates or offer phones with an old OS that can't be updated. At least that's what the Android-haters keep saying. So the 160,000 must be all new devices.


  1. melgross@usa.ne

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    09/01, 03:32pm | report spam | reply

    In the US

    There are more Android devices being bought in the US, where Apple is only running in AT&T's network, but Android is on all four of the big ones, giving it potentially, three times as many customers. That's to be expected, and it biases the numbers all around. But iPhones sell much better so far around the rest of the world, even though they weren't in as many markets yet.

    If Google is counting upgrades to the OS, then that's not a real measure of numbers.

    While it's true that a lot of Android phones can't be upgraded for various reasons, a fair number have been. Jobs is talking about the purchase of new hardware, and only that. It would be interesting if Google gave a response to job's statement. If they state right out that they are only counting new hardware, I'd believe that. But, if they don't respond, it's obvious that Jobs's statement is correct.


  1. testudo

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    09/01, 03:39pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    Re: in the US

    There are more Android devices being bought in the US, where Apple is only running in AT&T's network, but Android is on all four of the big ones, giving it potentially, three times as many customers.

    But the iPod Touch is an iOS device (which apple includes, along with the iPad) and doesn't need any network to run. So the iOS has a larger total market, based on what devices they're selling.


  1. appleuzr

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    09/01, 03:39pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    comment title

    Testudo has posted on every story pertaining to the special event today. It seems like he looks forward to these things much more than us Fanboi's, obviously for a different reason but non the less. At least he's found something constructive to do with his life.


  1. Jonathan-Tanya

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    Joined: Oct 2004

    +1
    09/01, 05:07pm | report spam | (2 replies) | reply

    Apple's number aren't just phones

    iPod touches and iPads are large part of those 'activations'.

    Kudos to Apple for selling iPod touches and iPads - make no mistake about it, they are part of the iOS sphere, and people buy apps on those devices.

    But in the smartphone arena - apple's own numbers, descronstructed, confirm that Android has already overtaken iOS in smartphones - and this is with the release of iPhone 4 just occuring.

    The numbers will only get worse, as iPhone 4 ages, and new Android phones are coming out every single month. Plus Android is finally entering the tablet markets - including the music player "iPod touch" style markets in some countries.

    So, as a developer one has to say these are the two large markets right now, iOS and Android.

    But looking at momentum, Android will be the much larger - and I think Microsoft is going to be a player too.

    I don't care much for any of the rest - RIM, Palm, Nokia have a whole bunch to prove.


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