Boost Mobile users are far more likely to carry cheaper Android devices than Verizon customers do, as you'd expect: Boost is a prepaid brand of Sprint, after all, while Verizon is generally regarded as the most expensive major U.S. carrier and focuses on the more lucrative postpaid market.
When it comes to the iPhone, though, customers of the two service providers are pretty similar.
The latest study from Apteligent found that the iPhone 5S was the most popular Apple handset among Boost Mobile users in April, followed in order by the iPhone 6, 6S, 5C and 6 Plus. Those findings are similar to Verizon, where the iPhone 6 was the most popular Apple model followed by the iPhone 5S, 6S, 6 Plus and 6S Plus.
Apteligent also found that Verizon isn't immune to the trend of extended handset replacement cycles as users hold on to their phones longer. The Samsung Galaxy S5 was the most popular Android device among Verizon customers in April, followed by the Motorola Droid Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S6.
Boost users, on the other hand, favored less expensive models including the Galaxy Core Prime (which was the most popular Android phone on Boost's network last month), followed by the Galaxy S3, N9130, LG G Stylo and LG Volt.
Apteligent is a self-described "mobile app intelligence platform" that conducts mobile network tests by collecting "a wide variety of analytics data through code embedded in thousands of mobile apps used by hundreds of millions of people around the world" through everyday usage. The company produces reports based on those tests in conjunction with STL Partners, a London-based firm whose clients include Sprint and Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile and holds substantial shares in several European operators.
Apteligent reported that T-Mobile's network was the fastest among major U.S. carriers in April, edging out Verizon with an average latency of 299 milliseconds. U.S. Cellular, which is the smallest of the top five U.S. carriers by a wide margin, operated the slowest network with an average latency of 337 milliseconds, Apteligent reported.
Interestingly, Apteligent also said mobile applications run roughly 15 percent slower in the summer than during other seasons due to increases in water vapor, which reduces the strength of radio waves, particularly in higher frequency bands. The humidity degrades signal strength, resulting in slight delays in the delivery of data to handsets.
For more:
- see this Apteligent press release
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