Internal Apple market research reveals why consumers are choosing Android smartphones over iPhones

An internal Apple memo, made public during the ongoing patent trial between Apple and Samsung, has shed new light on why US consumers choose to buy Android smartphones rather than an iPhone.

Last week, SmartCompany reported that Apple’s share of the worldwide smartphone market has shrunk to 16.4%, with Android running on 68.1% of all smartphones shipped.

According to the memo, republished by The Verge, internal Apple market research examined the top eight reasons consumers in the US chose an Android smartphone over an iPhone.

The reasons were as follows:

• Wanting to stay with a telco that doesn’t offer the iPhone: 48%
• The Google brand: 36%
• Larger screen size: 30%
• Preference for Android Market/Google Play over iTunes: 27%
• Integration with Google services: 26%
• Wanted the “latest and greatest” smartphone: 26%
• Wanted turn-by-turn GPS navigation: 25%
• Wanted the latest technology: 25%

The survey was presented in January 2011, at the end of a period where the iPhone was exclusively available on US carrier AT&T.

During that time, Android smartphone makers such as Samsung were able to make gains by making devices available for competing carriers, such as Verizon, where the iPhone was unavailable.