A survey shows that 49% of Android users are considering switching to Apple’s iPhone due to “perceived superiority” in security and privacy. In addition, consumers reported feeling more secure using the iPhone 13 Pro Max instead of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra.

The survey by Beyond Identity, which interviewed 1,003 Americans regarding mobile phone security habits and sentiments, shows that 76% of Apple users feel more secure with iOS. In contrast, 74% of Android users have the same perception.

Key findings of the study also show how cloud services impact Apple and Android users:

According to the users of each type of smartphone, the iPhone 13 Pro Max felt remarkably safer than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. In fact, iPhone 13 users were more than twice as likely to say that theirs was the most secure smartphone they had ever used.

  • 20% of iCloud Keychain users feel extremely secure, while only 13% of Google Password Manager users feel the same;
  • 27% of Apple users feel extremely secure using iCloud while 22% of Google Drive users feel the same.

Since newly-released operating systems come with improved security features, the survey shows that 33% of Android users are considering switching to the iPhone due to the launch of iOS 16 next month. One of the top security features coming to this OS is Lockdown Mode, which you can learn more about here.

The study reveals that iPhone users are also more proactive about their digital safety, as they’re more likely to choose a six-digit pin over a four-digit one to unlock their phone.

iPhone users are also more like to monitor their location tracking and use facial recognition – which no Android phone offers the same technology as Apple.

Last but not least, the respondents were asked to share their experiences with security breaches on their iPhones and Android phones. The study found:

You can read the full study here.

Neither Apple nor Android users were strangers to hacks and security breaches: 40% or more of both groups had experienced malware attacks or cyber scams. However, Apple once again had the advantage: More of their users reported never experiencing a security breach of any kind. And when breaches did happen, they were 20 percentage points more likely to fully recover the data they had lost compared to Android users. However, Apple users may have felt a little too safe as they were more likely to report regularly losing their phones—often as many as six or more times in the last six months. 

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