iOS vs Android: which platform users pay more?

iOS and Android are the two most popular mobile operating systems in the world. Their competition is one of the main drivers of market development, and the unanimous answer to the question “who is better?” is unlikely to be gotten.These are two structures with a completely different ecosystem and different products. Today I suggest understanding the peculiarities of the iOS and Android audiences and determine which of them is more actively using payment applications and which has a higher average payment.

How do users of operating systems vary?

World statistics, of course, are slightly different from Ukrainian realities. In terms of audiences, women are more likely to buy iOS devices than men. Android is the most widespread platform across all age groups, except iOS’s advantage in the 65+ group. Though, in Ukraine Android leads in this audience.

Android users are more committed to their platform today than iOS users — that’s it. The difference is not very big, but it is: adherence to their operating system among Android users was 91%, while for iOS — 86%. If Android users are still ready to change for the iOS, it can be explained by a longer period of support with new firmware and iOS versions for Apple devices and better protection of user data. Many Android smartphones aren’t to be updated after 2–3 years after release. This information is from the study conducted in China, which is still interesting, but I cannot call it as objective as possible yet .

Believe it or not, according to one study, it appears that smartphones of a particular platform match the personality of its user. The results showed that Android users are more introverted, honest, and humble than iPhone users. They are more likely to avoid being similar to other people. However, I think that each user is unique and it’s almost impossible to formulate the general characteristics of such a large audience. I’ve used and still use the iPhone precisely because of the closed ecosystem, which provides maximum convenience, full synchronization and data protection. Without this feeling of control in your daily work, it would be difficult.

Who pays more?

I strongly believe, it’s no secret to anyone that the number of Android devices dominates. As of May 2020, Android and iOS shared almost 100% of the market. Android users accounted for 74.6% . The reason is obvious — the variety of devices on this platform is huge and falls into all price ranges. Therefore, Android is especially popular in low-income regions and developing countries. According to research, iOS users tend to have higher income, more engagement, and spend more on apps. Of course, this doesn’t mean that these people will never buy an Android device. Moreover, the products of many companies on the Android platform have recently bypassed Apple devices for certain functions.

As for payments, I’m going to compare the two audiences on the basis of LeoGaming data. More precisely, by determining the users “average check” of each platform in the LeoWallet and Parking UA apps as for September 2020.

In the LeoWallet, Android users have significantly overtaken the owners of iOS devices. Both in the number of transactions (a gap of 6 times) and in the average amount. The average payment for Android devices is more than double compared to iOS devices. The analytics for the Parking UA payment application are slightly different. Here, in terms of the number of active users, the majority remains with Android users, but the gap was only 10% over the past year. For several years, the primacy was for iOS. However, the average payment amount is higher for iOS device owners. The difference of 2.5 times indicates that there are statistically more car owners among the Apple owners. It’s an extremely interesting insight, especially if the trend continues.

The payment habits of both audiences are different, which leads to different research results in different areas. So, for example, Vodafone analysts determined that Kiev owners of iOS go to cinemas more often and prefer Multiplex, while Android lovers more often go to Planeta Kino. According to our analysis, Android users are almost twice as active in using the LeoWallet app. It’s impossible to find an obvious leader, so Android, while maintaining quantitative leadership, is still inferior in terms of the size of the average payment.