Mac OS X usage on Web falls; rivals gain on iPhone
After months of gains, usage of Mac OS X on the Web as measured by Net Applications dropped slightly in February. And while nearly two-thirds of “mobile browsing” was done from an iPhone, that dominance may not last.
I’ll get to the Mac OS X data in a moment, but first let’s look at the mobile browsing data, a metric Net Applications had not broken out separately until this month. Not surprisingly, the iPhone dominates with a 66.44 percent share.
Although Net Applications describes its data as “market share,” a more accurate description would be “user share,” as in the percentage of people on the Web using a particular operating system or Web browser. Its statistics derive from data the company gathers in the course of its business -- measuring Web traffic for its clients.
It’s good to be king, but a little digging indicates the iPhone already may have peaked.
Although Net Applications does not yet have a market share trend screen for its mobile browsing data, I nevertheless found mobile numbers for January (but nothing any earlier).
In January, the iPhone had a 69.54 percent share of mobile Web browsing, so it’s actually down 3.1 percent in February. And each of Apple’s rivals is up from January except one – Windows Mobile, which lost 0.69 percent.
While the iPhone’s superior browsing experience has made it the device of choice for mobile users who want to access the Internet, the competition has noticed. Suddenly every smartphone maker has a touchscreen phone model.
Of course, Apple is expected to introduce a new iPhone model in May or June, which could put it another step ahead of rival devices. But as the other guys figure out how to make browsing easier on their phones, the iPhone’s dominance in this arena slowly will erode.
Nothing to panic about, mind you – but I think some of the excitement this week over this number has been misplaced.
Eventually Apple’s Web share number will fall closer in line with its smartphone unit share number – a number that according to the Tomi Ahonen Almanac 2009 was about 13 percent in 2008.
I’m not so sure about the Mac OS X numbers.
For the past couple of months I’ve been calculating the Mac OS X number by adding up the numbers of all the Apple devices represented: Macs, iPhones, and iPod Touches.
By that measure, the percentage of people using any version of Mac OS X to access the Web fell from 10.52 percent in January to 10.2 percent in February. That’s still a smidgen ahead of December’s total of 10.15 percent.
The February drop in traffic coming from Mac OS X devices could mean something, but not necessarily. Month to month changes in net Applications numbers are not always meaningful.
For example, the last significant decline in the Mac OS X number was July of last year, when it lost 0.18 percent. It took until September to bounce back, when it hit 8.23 percent. Trends over time matter more than the occasional hiccup.
Or perhaps Net Applications’ assertion in January that people spent more time on the Internet with new Apple gear they had received as gifts over the holidays had some truth to it. The novelty of the new devices may have lingered into January but faded by February.
More likely it’s the rising popularity of netbooks, none of which run OS X (well, except for a few owners have hacked), that have blunted the Mac’s growth on the Web.
One of the primary purposes of a netbook, after all, is to serve as a more easily carried PC for accessing the Internet on the go.
If the netbook phenomenon indeed has stalled Mac growth on the Web – and in overall sales, for that matter -- it gives more ammunition to those pleading with Apple to build a Mac netbook.
I expect to see some sort of netbook response from Apple before the end of 2009 -- probably not a Mac, but a brilliantly conceived portable computing device that will set the netbook market on its collective head.
Comments
While I do think the numbers will change a bit from month to month. Apple is selling iPhones by the boat load so I think with the addition of Safari 4 you will continue to see a growth on the Internet from Apple.
Posted by: Greg | March 3, 2009 12:31 PM
Exactly how is the iPhone browser share supposed to continually diminish? This is totally a guess, without any support whatsoever. Just because browsers are finally getting better on competing devices (since Apple showed them how it's done) doesn't mean people want to give up their use of iTunes, their iPhone applications, etc...
Posted by: Brian | March 3, 2009 2:03 PM
@Brian:
It's not that iPhone users will use the Web any less. It's that owners of other smartphones, which until recently hardly ever used the Web-browsing capabilities in their devices, will start using those capabilities more. As Web usage of other mobile devices increases, the iPhone's share on the Web will appear to shrink -- even though the habits of iPhone owners won't change. Make sense?
Posted by: Dave Zeiler | March 3, 2009 2:12 PM
This is ridiculous. Over the Christmas holidays the iPhone was probably being used non-stop as a browsing device. People that were using it are probably just taking a break to give their eyes a rest. Or maybe right now they're too busy playing games on their iPhones and iPod Touches. You may be reporting a drop in 'Net usage, but these gaining platforms are hardly pulling any large positive changes. I doubt if the iPhone's drop has anything to do with some other platform replacing it.
On my regular MacBook Pro I practically lived on the internet during the holidays just gathering up all sorts of information, but I nearly burnt myself out and am spending much less time on the internet while I recharge. Humans can only take so much overload, you know.
With these new Macs being introduced, I'll bet in a month or so you'll see a surge in iPhone 'Net use that will be attributed to these announcements. Trying to compare the holiday season usage to other months is ridiculous.
Posted by: Constable Odo | March 3, 2009 2:37 PM
Considering that web browsing on mobile devices was practically non-existent before the iPhone, it's not terribly surprising that Apple dominates the mobile browser usage.
However, when you consider that Apple has demonstrated how it should be done (with a touch screen using a webkit based browser), it shouldn't be surprising to see mobile web usage become more popular. Considering that Apple does not maintain 69% share of the smart phone market, it's unreasonable to expect Apple to maintain that usage market share.
I believe your comments about Netbooks are off base. I've seen no correlation between the increase of Netbook sales and the decrease of smart phone sales. I have seen a direct correlation between the increase of Netbook sales and the decrease of standard laptop sales. This is why the PC industry is currently in a funk. Number of units aren't down far thanks in part to the Netbook, but profit margins are down sharply.
Posted by: SteveS | March 3, 2009 5:25 PM
@SteveS:
I did not mean to mply a connection between the iPhone and netbook sales. My thinking is that rising netbooks sales may be having an effect on the Mac's Web share numbers. The number of people accessing the Web with a Mac may be the same, but the number accessing the Web with Windows, boosted by netbook sales, is increasing.
Posted by: Dave Zeiler | March 3, 2009 5:38 PM
I just bought an iPhone last week after having a Blackberry for 6 years. The iPhone is so much better! Yesterday I downloaded my first few games, and the kids loved JigSee, which lets you take a picture from the iPhone camera and turn it into a jigsaw puzzle game. But I will be getting this Kindle app right now!!!
Posted by: iPhoneMom | March 5, 2009 7:49 PM