What devices are Android Authority readers using?

If you’ve ever wondered what devices your fellow Android Authority buddies are using, or if all those polls about buying new flagship phones and updating to Nougat are accurate, then have I got the data just for you. We’ve had a little dig through the anonymous usage statistics that Google Analytics collects for the site, and it reveals some rather interesting trends.

Broadly speaking, there’s a love for Marshmallow, Google, Samsung, and OnePlus out there, and our dear readership is right on the cutting edge of mobile tech. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.

First up, what sort of devices are you lot using the most to browse the site? It’s not really a surprise to see that the vast majority of your viewing is done with a smartphone, which clocks in with a 62.2 percent share. A notable 32.2 percent chunk are still using either PCs or laptops to scope out the latest news and reviews, which leaves tablets on a somewhat surprisingly small 5.6 percent. We know that the tablet market has fallen on hard times lately, but this does seem like a rather small number for a form factory that’s basically designed for conveniently browsing the web.

Top 10 devices

Looking a little more closely at the most popular smartphones to visit the site in the last three months, we see the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, Pixel XL, and the OnePlus 3 among the top devices. Somewhat oddly, Apple’s iPhone range actually takes the gold medal for most popular devices, and the company’s iPad series also makes the list. Google seems to have rolled all of the iPhone models into one category, for some reason.

Spies, traitors, or perhaps turncoats waiting to switch sides, I’m not quite sure? We’ll have to see if we can bring that number down through a view conversions over the next year.

The Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Pixel, and Pixel XL are all in the list, suggesting more than a little crush on Google’s hardware and speedy updates out there. Interestingly, no LG, HTC, or Sony flagships made it into the top 10. Instead, the OnePlus 3, one of our picks for best value for money, secures a strong position in fifth place, followed by the budget friendly Moto G4. Wise choices indeed.

10 Favorite Brands

Once we combine all of the branded handsets together, we start to see a much bigger swing towards market leader Samsung. While it’s bound to upset the hipsters and underdog supporters among you, Samsung is our community’s favorite brand, with a whopping 31.7 percent of readers browsing on a Samsung device. Samsung’s flagship range has already shown itself to be popular, and it appears that last generation flagships and mid-range phones from the brand are quite common out there.

The mysterious Apple owners take up second place, followed by the beloved Google and Motorola in third and fourth. Out of the other major legacy manufacturers, it’s LG that’s our fifth most popular brand, while HTCand Sony have been surpassed by China’s OnePlus and Xiaomi. HUAWEI, the world’s third largest manufacturer, comes in 10th in our rankings, suggesting that there’s plenty of customers still to win over as the company’s expansion into the West continues.

Ahead of the OS curve

Moving away from hardware, let’s take a look at Android and software version numbers. The data reveals that you guys ‘n gals are way ahead of the curve when it comes to keeping up to date with the latest versions of Android, and are storming ahead with Nougat adoption too. The latest Android OS has only been on the market a few months and still isn’t available on a huge range of devices. As a result, Google’s Dashboard data states that only 1.2 percent of all Android users are on 7.0 or greater.

However, our Android enthusiasts readers have smashed that figure with 14.2 percent adoptions and are also far more likely to be running Marshmallow than the global average too, at 51.9 percent versus the 30.7 global statistic. The two and a bit year old Lollipop is actually still the most popular Android OS globally, but it’s only the third most common OS seen by Android Authority. I guess I shouldn’t have expected any less than you lot being on the cutting edge.

Chrome > all

My final statistic for you is web browsers, and there’s a clear favourite here, more so than phone models, brands, or even OS versions. Google’s Chrome takes the prize of Android Authority’s most used web browser across all platforms with a whopping 69.7 percent.  Apple’s Safari comes in a distant second on 6.1 percent, followed closely by UC Browser and Firefox and 5.5 and 5.2 percent respectively. Given that Google now include Chrome as its default browser installed on Android handsets, the number certainly isn’t surprising. Not to mention that I actually quite like Chrome too.

Wrap up

There you have it, a glimpse into the habits and trends of your fellow Android Authority readers and viewers. Are you surprised at all by any of the results? Do they match up closely to your own experiences, or are you using some really different hardware? Sound off in the comments below.