Here's Why Android Phones Eat Through Your Data Plan Faster Than The iPhone

For those on tiered plans, watching every megabyte, this is important to know.

As part of a comprehensive new report on the state of the mobile Internet, Cisco quantified exactly how much more cell data Android eats: 38 percent more megabytes per month per user.

This wasn't always the case. Cisco conducted a three-year study, and at first, Apple's operating systems had data consumption that was equal to or higher than Android's.

We asked Cisco's senior analyst Arielle Sumits to explain. She told us:

"Approximately 70% of the traffic generated by an iPhone is over Wi-Fi and 30% is mobile, while on an Android smartphone, about 45% is over Wi-Fi and 55% is mobile. The reasons why iPhone may offload more traffic might include: (1) iPhones automatically revert to Wi-Fi if available (most Android phones do now too, but it varies), (2) iPhone users may watch more video and download more apps than Android users, and video consumption and app downloading tends to take place in a stationary environment where Wi-Fi is likely to be available."

Here's the relevant chart that compares which operating systems are using cell data networks the most. (And don't miss Cisco's whole mind-blowing report on the mobile market in 2017).

Ongoing updates to this research can be found at the Cisco Data Meter web site.