Off Topic: And They Shall Know No Android

October 24, 2013 9 Comments

At the risk of stirring up (again) the proverbial hornet’s nest, I felt the need to share these two recent pictures from Apple (or rather, from Chitika) on the use of the iPad vs. alternative devices.

Why?

Simply because it is a discussion that keeps coming up in talking about Games Workshop’s bias for Apple’s iOS in their digital releases, at the expense of alternative systems such as Android.

iPad vs. the Rest

iPad Market Share

iPad Market Tablet Share

And You Thought GW Dominated Miniature Wargames?

Though I knew that the iPad is popular, even I was surprised by these stark numbers (for US and Canada only). Hell, even among the remaining  18 odd percent, Android doesn’t come in first.

Is that a healthy mix in the market there?

Probably not.

But it is the world we live in, and I believe it goes some way to explain why companies such as GW are taking the plunge iOS first (with limited enthusiasm for the rest).

Did you think Apple’s edge over the competition was this obvious?

Let me know what you think and leave a comment!

Z.

Source: Chitika Insights
Zweischneid

Zweischneid

I am Zweischneid. Wargame Addict. Hopeless painter and founder of Pins of War. I hope you enjoyed this article. Don't forget to share your favourite miniature pictures and wargaming videos at www.pinsofwar.net.
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  • Dr. Ew

    The Kindle Fire does use an android port. I think its also important to look at phone use as well. Many use their phone as their primary gaming aid and the growing phablet market is slowly bridging the gap between the two devices. There are stats for android vs. IOS on phones here: http://techland.time.com/2013/04/16/ios-vs-android/

  • Jared Reidel

    http://blog.laptopmag.com/android-vs-apple-tablet-sales

    Just as a counter point.

    Not sure the use of an Apple sales presentation or a US market only data point is entirely valid .

    • http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid

      Well, these are not Apple numbers, but Chitika.. gives Apple credibility to not use their own stuff too.

      And yeah, the numbers used by Apple are traffic, those in your article are sales in Q2 (well, would love to see Q4 with Christmas and the new tablets out, don’t think Q2 is really the hotbed of tablet sales, Still, it’s an interesting contrast).

  • Badgerboy1977

    GW doesn’t really have an Apple bias in my eyes, the problem is more that Android simply doesn’t have an appropriate alternative to Apple’s bookstore which make’s it safe and easy to create the interactive books and instead they have to use ebooks which are too easily pirated and aren’t as useful in terms of interactivity. The only alternative is to create individual apps for each publication which would be time and cost prohibitive.

    The usefulness and fun of the iBook versions could well be one of the reasons why they’re viewed far more on i devices.

    I sincerely hope that Google do decide to create their own version of Apple’s book store, as I along with a huge amount of other people don’t own or want to own an Apple product for various reasons but would love to use the interactive versions.

  • BasicDave

    While I agree Apple probably is in a dominant position and there is a lot of evidence (anecdotal and otherwise) to suggest iOS users are more likely to part with their cash for apps & digital downloads of the type GW produce. This goes along way to explain why companies like GW target iOS more directly than other platforms.

    This position is not necessarily assured though, as the graph included in this commentary of Apple’s recent announcements indicates:

    http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2013/10/what-are-people-doing-on-all-those-cheap-tablets.html

    Linking to:

    http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2013/10/24/ipads-and-self-selection

    You could argue, what does it matter that Android’s market share is increasing at the lower margin end of the market (while the number of Apple devices stays roughly the same) when those users are less likely to purchase ebooks / codexes etc. anyway? Apart from missing out on increasing potential sales – they aren’t giving up current ones. I also suspect the ‘locked down’ nature of the Apple book & app stores appeals to GW’s protective tendencies!

    Of course GW is producing digital downloads for other platforms these days, but it would be interesting to see the revenue split between them.

    Food for thought…

    • Chronosmaximus

      As you said, Apple products are for richest top 10% of the world, and the above average middle class earners, which make up about 20%. Those 30% have more then 80% of the worlds total wealth in their pockets. It is about time for a another revolution against the capitalist parasite elites, who centrol the world.

      • http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid

        Lol

  • Guest

    Just saying, the market share for the rest of the world is ~50:50 (iOS:others)

    • http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid

      This isn’t market-share data.. this is web traffic data.