Android will trump iPhone two-to-one according to global consumer survey

The growing demand for Android devices will see the number of apps downloaded on the platform outstrip those on Apple by two to one in the coming months, finds a study by independent apps store GetJar.

Almost 40% of respondents said they will switch to Android when they purchase their next phone, compared to the 18% who said they would like to switch to the iPhone.

“The survey results make it clear that all eyes are on Android, as well as the importance of brand equity in the increasingly competitive mobile app space,” says Patrick Mork, CMO of GetJar. “In addition, the data also reveals that brand marketers and advertisers also have a reason to be hopeful about consumer’s appetite for in-app advertisement.”

App usage is clearly on the rise with the survey results showing almost 34% of consumers spending one hour or more using apps per day, compared to 49% who spend the same amount of time watching television. Fifty-eight percent of respondents use mobile apps more than once a day.

The importance of brand equity was pushed to the forefront, as almost 80% said that the quality of the brand’s app makes the brand more trustworthy. Furthermore, 72% of those surveyed said they were more likely to engage with a brand if they had a good app.

Advertisers have reason to be hopeful. Seventy-three percent of respondents said they have downloaded an app with advertising in it, and almost 60% said they’d do it again. Almost one in four made a purchase after having clicked on a mobile ad.

Discovery continues to plague app publishers. Only 25% discovered the apps they were looking for using actual app stores. Nearly 50% had actually discovered apps while browsing online and nearly 17% had discovered apps through friends or social media.

Other survey results include:

• Gaming apps are the most popular, followed closely by social networking apps

• The amount of free apps and the ease of search topped the list of things users look for in an app store

• The cost of an app was the biggest deciding factor in whether to download an app or not