Quote:
Originally Posted by mose121
Seriously. Over 70% of the world uses android devices yet Bmw continues to cater way too much to ios users. Let's hope they see the light soon. They obviously have the resources to cater to both.
|
Before you read what I'm about to say, keep in mind that I'm not making an argument that iOS is better than Android or vice versa (I use and really enjoy both). That's a rabbit hole of epic proportions, and I have no desire to prove either case here. Rather, if we're trying to understand why BMW favors iOS integration to Android, there are answers that are based in fact.
1) It is unlikely that the proportion of iOS to Android users in the general population is the same as that proportion in the BMW buyer population. The basis for this is that the demographics of iOS and Android skew toward iOS at upper income levels [ref 1]. It follows that the BMW owner population skews toward iOS.
2) While iOS users make up the smaller total population, they actually make up a significant statistical majority when you look at the dollars spent in e-commerce transactions. This disparity is even larger when you
look at app purchases, which would be of particular focus for BMW. It's not like we're going to be shopping while driving, but we will be marketed apps that enhance iDrive. This makes iOS users more "valuable" to platform maintainers. Think of it this way, if you're going to target a user, are you going to target the one that is more likely to spend money with you, or less?
I absolutely hate the clickbait title of this article, but it contains some good statistics that explain this phenomenon:
Android is for Poor People. Comscore has
similar findings.
For BMW, which platform to support is a matter of return on investment. BMW knows their buyer. They have to, or they wouldn't survive the current automotive market. The most obvious answer is that it simply doesn't make sense (financially) to support Android (yet).
Reference 1:
Pew Research - Smartphone Ownership 2013
"Android and iPhone owners are equally common within the cell owner population as a whole, although this ratio differs across various demographic groups. Cell phone owners from a wide range of educational and household income groupings have similar levels of Android adoption, but those from the upper end of the income and education spectrum are much more likely than those with lower income and educational levels to say they own an iPhone. Indeed, fully half—49%—of cell owners with a household income of $150,000 or more say their phone is an iPhone. And African-American cell owners are more likely than whites or Latinos to say that their phone is an Android device as opposed to an iPhone."