Holidays Help Boost Web Use on iOS, Android Platforms

With users snapping up iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches for their loved ones this holiday season, Apple's iOS saw the greatest overall usage share gain last month in terms of those accessing the Web on its platform.

Web use on the Android platform, however, grew at the fastest pace, according to data from NetMarketShare.

Apple's iOS nabbed 1.69 percent of global Web users, up from 1.36 percent, or a 24.3 percent growth rate. Android had 0.4 percent in December, up from 0.31 percent in November and a 29 percent growth rate. By comparison, Android started the year with a 0.07 percent share in February, while iOS had 0.61 percent that month.

The data is based on all browsing on the Web by all devices, including PCs and consoles.

RIM's BlackBerry platform, meanwhile, had a 0.13 percent share in December, up from 0.11 percent the previous month, an 18 percent growth rate.

On iOS, NetMarketShare broke out Web use among the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and found that the iPad grew at an "amazing" rate of 33.3 percent between November and December. The iPhone grew 20 percent while the iPod touch grew 25 percent.

NetMarketShare cautioned that the data included the holiday season and historically levels off in January.

About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

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