Apple lashes out at Android – is the mighty feeling the heat?

Phil Schiller, Apple’s marketing boss, has attacked rival Google’s Android operating software in a rare show of tension for the tech giant.

The verbal slamming comes just hours ahead of the unveiling of Samsung’s flagship Android device the Galaxy S4.

"With their own data, only 16 per cent of Android users are on year-old version of the operating system," he told Reuters. "Over 50 per cent are still on software that is two years old. A really big difference.

"And that extends to the news we are hearing this week that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is being rumoured to ship with an OS that is nearly a year old. Customers will have to wait to get an update."

Schiller also argued that Apple’s internal research shows four times as many consumers are switching to iOS from Android than the other way”.

The exec also made time to slam Android’s impressive 1.5m activations per day stat, adding: "At Apple we know that it’s not just enough to have products pumped out in large numbers. You have to love and use them. There is a lot of data showing a big disparity there."

While Apple remains the most valuable tech company in the world, its rivals are making big gains in area where iOS was once totally unassailable.

Samsung has already overtaken it in the global smartphone market – a fact that has undoubtedly played a part in Apple’s 30 per cent share price dip in the last six months.