Samsung outstrips iPhone sales, as Android app downloads overtake iOS

While Apple continues to be the tech media's number one pin-up, it has been knocked off of two significant perches in the past few days as both its app and smartphone positions took a hit.

First the Californian tech giant saw its position at the top of the app download pile taken away by the Android OS. According to analysts at ABI Research, Android took 44 per cent of the worldwide app download market in the second quarter of 2011.

This left iOS downloads a distant second on 31 per cent in the same period, a result that has been put down to a huge upsurge in the number of Android handsets shipping around the world in the last six months compared to those being shipped by Apple. Android smartphones saw a 36 per cent rise in shipments, compared to a 20 per cent rise for Apple's iconic iPhones.

Hence, it was no real surprise to see Samsung move past Apple in overall smartphone sales - an overtake that had been coming for some time. It's no real surprise, as Samsung shifts so many different smartphone models and sets its sites across the whole market, while Apple aims its iPhones squarely at the top end. This means that while Apple enjoyed its number one spot while it lasted, it clearly saw this coming and will not be unduly concerned - it has had ample opportunity to move into the budget space if it so desired.

Of course, timing is everything and with the iPhone 4S now on sale it will be interesting to see how the Q4 figures come out later in the year. A general slow in downloads for Q2 was in part put down to consumers holding off until they got hold of the newer iPhone, so a resurgence of downloads in the aftermath of it being made available is likely to be on the cards.