iPhone and Galaxy owners are not that different

iPhone 4S and Galaxy S III in hand

While iPhone and Galaxy S3 owners are often viewed as fans of rival teams, the two groups have more in common than Apple or Samsung would care to admit.

A new report finds owners of the two smartphones follow the same usage patterns, while maintaining some distance on hardware and carrier choices.

Based on surveys conducted in January and February, both iPhone and G3 owners follow a trend away from voice calls and emails to texting. Before anyone thinks the two will for a mutual admiration society anytime soon, there are some striking differences, as well…

AppleInsider cited a Consumer Research Partners survey which states that between 80 percent to 90 percent of iPhone and S3 owners use their handsets to send multiple texts each day.

There is only a slight difference between the two smartphone platforms when it comes to going online: more than 80 percent of iPhone owners use their device to reach the Internet, while 75 percent of G3 users launch an Internet session from their phones.

While few iPhone or Galaxy S3 owners used their phones to call someone, there was a slightly larger number of S3 users who dialed digits.

In another area, the advantage of the iPhone’s Retina Display may be a factor.

Size comparison (Galaxy S4 vs iPhone 5, Martin Hajek 004)

Owners of iPhones reported more often using the handset to play games or view photos one or two times per day. Although 80 percent of iPhone owners said they often played games on their phones, that figure dropped to 70 percent for S3 users.

When it comes to other hardware, there were more disparities between the two groups.

While both iPhone and S3 owners said they owned PCs, iPhone owners were more likely to own a Mac laptop or desktop, according to the report. The research also found while 20 percent of iPhone owners also have a Mac laptop, just 7 percent of S3 owners said they own a Mac laptop.

In other words, an Apple laptop owner is more likely to buy an Apple smartphone than an Android-based G3 owner is to cross “party lines” and purchase a Mac.

JD Power iPhone 201303
Apple today amusingly emailed out its ninth JD Power award to users (kudos to Mark Gurman).

That line against cross overs also includes tablets. iPhone owners are twice as likely to buy an iPad, while Galaxy S3 owners are twice as likely to own an Android tablet. Of interest to Amazon: iPhone owners are more likely to have a Kindle e-reader, as well.

Despite iPhone owners having three U.S. carriers supporting their Apple smartphone, AT&T – which was Apple’s original partner – has more than 50 percent of iPhone users, according to the researchers.

Verizon has around 35 percent of iPhone owners, while a bit more than 10 percent of iPhone owners are Sprint customers. For the S3, there is no apparent carrier preference with Galaxy owners evenly spread across the four domestic wireless providers.