Apple's iPhone devices dropped fewer data sessions than rival smartphones in 2013, amid over 100 per cent growth in the number of data sessions and voice calls dropped, telco customer experience software developer Actix has revealed.
Actix research into the impact of the world's top 10 smartphones on radio access networks ranked Apple's iPhone 4s first in terms of the average percentage of voice and data sessions dropped – 1.07 per cent - and Samsung's Galaxy S3 10th on an average of 2.54 per cent. The company said the focus on top 10 smartphones means its study covered 82,994 subscribers.
A breakout of the figures shows that the iPhone 3GS recorded the lowest percentage of dropped data sessions, followed by the iPhone 5 and 4s. The iPhone 3GS demonstrated a drop rate that was nearly two thirds lower than average. Blackberry's 9320 smartphone tops the list for voice, dropping 60 per cent fewer calls than average.
Samsung's Galaxy S3 brings up the rear on data drops, and S2 in the voice category.
Actix's research also revealed a 121 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of data sessions and voice calls dropped in 2013. The company said the rise is due to the pressure on networks from growing demand for mobile data services. On average, 1 per cent of all voice and data calls fail, though Actix noted peak failure rates of 17 per cent when networks were heavily loaded.
Neil Coleman, global marketing director at Actix, said failures are often due to incompatibilities between the mobile network and device. "Handsets perform in different ways, not just because they have different components, such as the antenna and the radio, but also depending on how the mobile network is optimised."
Coleman added: "It is possible that if a network has been optimised for one particularly popular handset, other devices will experience an increase in dropped calls and slower data sessions."
Other factors affecting data sessions include the subscriber's location, network capacity and congestion, and interference, Actix said.
For more:
- see this Actix release
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