Android Tightens Grip on its Dominant Position Over Apple in Smartphone Performance Battle

Q1 2017 State of Mobile Device Performance & Health Report Finds Android Devices Have Significantly Lower Failure Rate (50 Percent) Than iOS Devices (68 Percent)

Atlanta, GA and London, UK, May 18, 2017 – It’s a mobile-first world and we’re all just living in it. The data certainly supports this: eMarketer predicts almost 2.4 billion people will use a smartphone in 2017 and more than one-third of the global population will use these handheld devices by the end of 2018. But when mobile devices don’t work properly, lag or stop working altogether, it’s more than just a problem for users. Smartphone operating systems and manufacturers suffer too, as revealed by the Q1 2017 State of Mobile Device Performance and Health report released today by Blancco Technology Group (LON: BLTG).

One of the report’s key findings is that Android, as an operating system, continues to hold a strong grip and leadership position over Apple in the area of smartphone performance. According to the Blancco Mobile Diagnostics testing data, the overall failure rate of Android devices was significantly lower (50 percent) than iOS devices (68 percent) in the first quarter of 2017. This is a slight increase from the previous quarter (Q4 2016), when the Android failure rate was 47 percent. Despite this quarter-over-quarter increase, Android devices are still performing considerably better than their iOS counterparts. Meanwhile, the iOS failure rate has increased from 62 percent in Q4 2016 to 68 percent in Q1 2017.

Key highlights from the Q1 2017 trend report include:

• The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are two of the worst performing iPhone models. The iPhone 7’s failure rate has increased from 3 percent in Q4 2016 to 10 percent and the iPhone 7 Plus’ failure rate has also increased from 3 percent in Q4 2016 to 11 percent in Q1 2017.
• Samsung, LGE and Motorola perform poorly amidst Android manufacturers, with Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge plagued by high failure rates. In Q1 2017, the Samsung Galaxy S7 ranked as the worst performing Android device with the highest failure rate (9 percent), followed by Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (8 percent) and Samsung Galaxy S5 (5 percent).
• Apps crash almost three times more on iPhones than on Android devices. Apps crashed almost three times more on iPhones (50 percent) than they did on Android devices (18 percent).
• Camera malfunctions and weak signal strength frustrate Android users. Two common problems experienced by Android users were related to a weak carrier signal (6 percent) and camera malfunctions (3 percent).
• Overheating and trouble connecting to GPS are common issues for iPhone users. Temperature (3 percent) and connecting to GPS (0.5 percent) were two sources of frustration for iOS users worldwide.

“While Samsung users in the past have complained about glitches with fingerprint scanning, devices freezing and overheating (who could forget last year’s malfunctions with the Galaxy Note 7), users of the iPhone have experienced different frustrations ranging from headset and microphone issues to software updates and app crashes,” said Russ Ernst, Vice President of Product Management, Blancco Technology Group. “From a hardware perspective, Apple was the first to market with its voice assistant, Siri. However, Android devices were first to capitalize on the bigger screen and OLED display panels. OLED offers brighter displays and better power efficiency over liquid crystal displays that are currently in use on Apple’s iPhones. This is one area that Apple may be looking to remedy, with recent reports that Apple has ordered 70 million OLED panels from its longtime rival, Samsung, so that the new iPhone 8 will feature a 5.2 inch OLED screen with curved edges.”

About Blancco Technology Group

Blancco Technology Group (AIM: BLTG) is the de facto standard in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics. The Blancco Data Eraser solutions provide thousands of organizations with an absolute line of defense against costly security breaches, as well as verification of regulatory compliance through a 100% tamper-proof audit trail. Our data erasure solutions have been tested, certified, approved and recommended by 18 governing bodies around the world. No other security firm can boast this level of compliance with the most rigorous requirements set by government agencies, legal authorities and independent testing laboratories.

The Blancco Mobile Diagnostics solutions enable mobile network operators, retailers and insurers to easily, quickly and accurately identify and resolve performance issues on their customers’ mobile devices. As a result, mobile service providers can spend less time dealing with technical issues and, in turn, reduce the quantity of NTF returns, save on operational costs and increase customer satisfaction.

For more information, visit our website at www.blancco.com.

Media Contacts

CCgroup for Blancco Technology Group (UK)
Abbie Godward / Josh Cobb
T: +44 (0) 20 3824 9214
E: blancco@ccgrouppr.com

CCgroup for Blancco Technology Group (US)
Lori Scribner
T: +1 619 798 0043
E: blancco@ccgrouppr.com

Blancco Technology Group
Liz Adams, Global Marketing Director
T: +44 (0) 7725 010 412
E: liz.adams@blancco.com