Study shows iPhone and GS III buyers are like, the same

It's time for iPhone owners and Samsung GS3 owners to make peace

The ongoing feud between iPhone buyers and Samsung Galaxy buyers has become the Hatfields and McCoys of our generation. It will rage on for generations, resulting in deadly duels, shootouts, and doomed tales of star-crossed lovers.

A new study released by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners sheds some new light on this feud, revealing that Samsung GS III buyers and iPhone buyers are much more similar than previously thought. Specifically, researchers interviewed 500 iPhone owners and 500 GS III owners and analyzed phone usage in six different ways. The report found that iPhone and GS III owners used their phones for calls, texting, email, and Internet access at virtually identical rates. When it comes to gaming and photos, iPhone users tend to use their phones slightly more than GS III owners.

Not surprisingly, iPhone owners are more than twice as likely as GS III owners to own an iPad, while GS III owners are twice as likely as iPhone owners to have an Android tablet. It would seem that both own tablets in equal numbers though. Additionally, iPhone owners are more than twice as likely as GS III owners to use a Mac laptop or desktop. Interestingly, iPhone buyers and GS III buyers tend to own laptop PCs in roughly equal numbers.

Where the two tend to differ is the device from which they upgraded. Fully 60% of GS III buyers previously owned an Android phone, while only 9% previously owned an iPhone. But among iPhone buyers, only 37% are coming from iPhone while 20% are coming from Android. Some 30% of iPhone buyers are coming from a standard phone, compared to 18% of GS III owners.

While the CIRP report finds virtually identical usage rates among iPhone and GS III owners, other reports have found stark differences between iPhone and Android users. Take this infographic released in 2011 by Hunch, which pissed a lot of people off.