The Latest Mobile Traffic Numbers Show Apple's iOS Is Dominating Android In The U.S.

Screenshot

Despite widespread competition, Apple's iOS remains dominant in the United States, according to Quantcast data.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster looked at mobile web traffic tracked by Quantcast and found, "iOS mobile traffic share in the U.S. decreased slightly from 60.5% in June 2013 to 60.3% in June 2014. Android increased from 28.5% to 33.4% in the same period. Other mobile operating systems lost share from 10.9% to 6.3%."

Although Android has been gaining ground here, it's been at the expense of less popular mobile operating systems, not Apple's iOS.

There are three reasons iOS is leading the way, according to Munster.

1. Apple devices make up the majority of mobile internet traffic for AT&T and Verizon, thereby dominating the US market.
2. He also speculates that Apple users are more engaged on their devices than Android users, driving up mobile traffic.
3. But the real reason Apple isn't loosing any ground to Android may be because of the iPad. "We believe that iOS' contribution from tablets, which are likely to generate more traffic than a smartphone, is currently greater than Android's," said Munster.

Now, the big caveat here is that this is the US, where Apple has a home field advantage. It also benefits from carriers that subsidize the iPhone so that it essentially costs the same as an Android phone. Around the world, it's less likely to be so dominating.