The rivalry between the iPhone and Android has been in force practically since the launch of the first Apple mobile phone, in 2007. Enthusiasts of one operating system or another have always competed to defend that their proposal was more interesting than that of the rival. The leadership of one brand or another has varied greatly over time, and even more so, with countries. For example, Spain has always been a country that preferred Android , and that continues to be the case, although with a very important clarification.
The vast majority of mobile users in the country use brands that have Android as their operating system , but Apple’s market share continues to grow, slowly but steadily, having gone from 10% to more than 15%. in recent years.
And the biggest problem for the brands that fight with Apple for market share is that among the youngest it is not that the Cupertino firm is reducing its distance, it is that it is directly capable of destroying the competition . Young people clearly prefer iPhones over any other brand, although the penetration levels of countries like the United States have not yet been reached.
Android reigns in Spain
According to the latest survey published by the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) , 78.8% of Spaniards with a smartphone use Android, compared to 16.3% who prefer iOS . It is curious how there are 3.9% who do not answer the question and 1.1% who respond that their choice is Others . A few years ago BlackBerry or Windows Phone were viable alternatives in Spain, but currently it is rare to find someone who uses operating systems different from those of Apple and Google.
This was the first time that the CNMC has asked its respondents what operating system they used on their mobile phones, although the figures are similar to those seen in previous years in other surveys, with a significant but not decisive increase in iOS. Apple is increasingly gaining popularity among Spanish users , who have always been very sensitive to the price of smartphones.
But the most important data comes out when each of the sections of that circle is broken down, dividing the use of operating systems by age. This makes it clear that the youngest people opt for the iPhone and only the elderly prefer Android, for one reason or another.
The iPhone is the king of young people
Delimiting by age, it can be seen that 40% of iPhone users are between 14 and 35 years old and only 20% of users of that age opt for an Android. That is, among those under 35 years of age, the iPhone has twice the market share than Android.
In fact, in the graph above you can clearly see how in the 35 to 49 age range the use of the two operating systems is similar. That is, among middle-aged people, the two systems are tied . The striking thing comes when we look at both sides of that age range. The elderly, people aged 50 and older, preferentially use Android , far above iPhone.
But in the other age group, which little by little will permeate the rest of the survey simply because they are the youngest, it is the iPhone that dominates. From 15 to 34 years old, the Apple mobile crushes the brands with Android , which we remember are many more, both in number of models and companies.
Only among those under 14 years of age is parity seen again in the use of the two operating systems , iOS and Android. Presumably this is because the choice of operating systems is made by parents, people between 30 and 50 years old, that is, it seems that parents give a mobile phone to their descendants with the same operating system that they use. .
Still no iMessage effect
What is clear in the same report is that Apple still does not have the same traction in Spain as in the United States , where the use of iOS ecosystem applications, such as FaceTime or iMessage, make younger people clearly opt for Apple.
Spain continues to be a country where WhatsApp is a religion . This is the most used messaging application, with 95% of users acknowledging that they use it for texts, photos and videos and 67% adding that they also use it for video calls . Other options such as Facebook Messenger or Telegram are far behind, with 24.9% and 18.7% respectively. Special mention to the percentage of people who send audio messages several times a day, no less than 30.3%.
In fact, this is the main use of mobile phones in Spain, sending text messages to family, friends, co-workers… More than 82% of users admit to doing so, compared to 48.1% who say they browse social networks or 43.2% who say they use email on their mobile. Uses such as watching videos, playing games or using GPS are only used by less than 30% of users.
