Nearly a fifth of Android phones in the United States have Dropbox installed on them as of last month, according to data from digital market research firm SimilarWeb. The company found that the cloud hosting service is installed on 19-percent of all Android devices in the U.S. and dwarfs Microsoft OneDrive which was found in 12.7-percent of Android phones in the country during the same period. Overall, Google Drive is still the undisputed leader in the segment, being pre-installed on every Android-powered product sold stateside.
It should be pointed out, however, that the Android install rate of Dropbox decreased over the past year from 26-percent in January 2017. Meanwhile, Microsoft OneDrive has managed to keep its install rate relatively stable, from 12.5-percent in January last year to 13.2 percent a year later. In terms of app engagement, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive are a relatively close match, boasting engagement rates of 2.6 and 2.7-percent, respectively. Google Drive also leads in this metric with a 3.7-percent engagement score. SimilarWeb’s report comes as the cloud storage provider is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). The company made its S-1 filing last month and acknowledged the growing competition, which it expects to escalate in the future.
While at that, Dropbox recently announced integration with its close rival, Google Drive, as part of an effort to bring native Dropbox support to Google Cloud services over the next year. The goal of the integration is to incorporate the functionality, accounts, and services of Dropbox into the core services of Google Cloud for enterprise users while minimizing the need to have several applications to complete tasks. On the part of Google, the partnership means its G Suite will become widely accessible to a broader scope of users while they will also be able to fulfill tasks across multiple platforms. Microsoft OneDrive overhauled the look of its Android app last December with the goal of providing users with a more intuitive interface which prioritizes their most commonly used tools.