Could Google Inc (GOOG) Help Apple Inc. (AAPL) By Falling?

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and its Android operating system is top dog in the mobile smartphone OS market. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS is doing its own things, having quite a bit of success in the second slot.

Larry Page and Sundar Pichai should be happy with how much progress Android has made in a relatively short period of time. The same holds true for Tim Cook and Jony Ive at Apple.

As the battle between the two tech titans continues, any news about a decline or increase in market share is sure to pique the interest of both consumers and investors.

According to the latest ComScore survey for US smartphone users, Android is holding onto 52 percent market share, consisting of roughly 142 million users. In other words, there are roughly 73.84 million Android devices being used.

This is Good for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), but what about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)?

While these numbers look good (and they are), it is not what Android was hoping for when compared to the last survey released by ComScore at the end of June 2013.

At that time, Android was holding onto 52.4 percent of 141 million users.

As noted by Asymco, this shows that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android usage in the United States declined for the first time.

At this point, you may be wondering where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fits into the equation.

The latest survey shows Cupertino with 39.9 percent of smartphone subscribers. This is an increase of 0.9 percent over the last survey.

This may not be a huge jump forward for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), but it is enough to show that the company is closing in on Android. Even more interesting is the fact that Apple was able to make this gain without the assistance of a new iPhone (which is going to be coming to the market soon).

Things like this happen from one quarter and one report to the next. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained ground this time, but Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) may find itself doing the same the next time around.

What we need to keep an eye on is this: will iOS continue to inch forward while Android falls back a little at a time. This could signify a big change.

The following hedge fund managers are liking what they see from Google, and this can be seen in how many shares they own: Robert Karr, Daniel Benton, Sandy Nairn, Gregory Bylinsky, and Christopher Hansen.

Check out the video below for more on what Google has been up to:

Disclosure: none