Apple's iOS platform has more than twice the reach of Google’s Android platform in the US

(AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand)

There are 37.9 million Apple mobile devices (including iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches) in use in the US while the combined installed user base of Android OS products (including Android smartphones and connected media devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab) is almost half as much at 23.8 million.

Most reports on the iOS vs Android battle have only looked at smartphone ownership in the US - a market where, according to another recent study by comScore, Android is creeping ahead of of the competitors.

comScore's latest research measures the reach of both platforms across the entire connected media devices spectrum (which includes mobile phones, connected media players and tablets) and shows that Apple's iOS outreaches Google's Android platform in the US by 59 percent.

The popularity of the iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch has left Apple and its products in a position of unduplicated audience reach said comScore in an April 19 report.

"[T]he Apple ecosystem extends far beyond the iPhone," said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile.

"Though it’s frequently assumed that the Apple user base is composed of dedicated Apple 'fanboys,' there’s not a tremendous amount of overlapping mobile device access among these users."

Of the 37.9 million iOS users, only 4 million (10.5 percent) of them access the platform from more than one device.

Contrary to popular belief, not all iPad owners are Apple addicts either. The majority of iPad owners actually use phones made by rival companies like Research In Motion (RIM), Samsung, Motorola and LG - all of which have tablets of their own.

"While Apple is indeed the most heavily represented OEM among iPad owners, its OEM share (27.3 percent) is only slightly higher than its share among all smartphone subscribers (25.2 percent)," said comScore.

The survey found that 17.5 percent of iPad owners had a RIM-branded smartphone, 14.3 percent used a smartphone made by Samsung and 12.1 percent used an LG-made mobile device.

iPad users also owned smartphones made by Motorola (9 percent) and Nokia (3.4 percent).

Furthermore, 14.2 percent of all iPad users in the US had an Android phone.