Mobile OS market: Android continues to dominate Asia but Apple holds the US
The latest smartphone OS data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has revealed Android and iOS are continuing to increase their share of most markets.
In the three months ending April 2017, Android captured 83.4 percent of smartphone sales in Urban China, up 4.3 percent from the year earlier. Despite this, the usage of Android in the US fell 5.9 percent to 61.7 percent.
Global Consumer Insight Director for Kantar Worldpanel, Lauren Guenveur says in particular, Android partner brands Samsung, LG, and Moto experienced year-on-year declines in the US.
"The Samsung Galaxy S8, released in the last two weeks of the April period, did not show a significant impact on Samsung's sales in the period ending in April, nor did LG's G6. Neither of those made the list of Top 10 best-selling phones," says Guenveur.
"Early indications in our data for the three-month period ending in May 2017 show that the S8 and S8 Plus will reach a combined share of 8.1 percent in the US, slightly behind their predecessors, the S7/S7 Edge at 8.8 percent. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus remain the top sellers during the May period with a combined share of 20.1 percent.
iOS accounted for 36.5 percent of smartphone sales in the US for the three months ending April 2017, a 5.8 percent increase over the same period one year earlier.
It wasn't all rosy for iOS though, as in Urban China the iOS share dropped year-on-year to 16.2 percent, representing a 3.8 percent drop. According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, this decline has been ongoing since the three months ending February 2016.
"Importantly, Apple posted a strong period-on-period gain in urban China, rising to a 16.2% share from 12.4% in the first quarter of 2017, which was their lowest since early 2016," says Tamsin Timpson, Strategic Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia.
"iPhone 7 and 7 Plus sales recovered slightly, now representing 8.5% of smartphones sold in the region, outpacing both Huawei and Oppo models.
In the five big markets of Europe (Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain), Android accounted for 78.3 percent of smartphone sales in the three months ending April 2017, increasing 2.2 percent from a year earlier. iOS posted a 1.1 percent gain to reach 19.3 percent of smartphone sales in the region.
"Huawei captured 8.9 percent of smartphone sales in Great Britain during the three months ending April 2017, a 6.1 percent increase over the same period a year earlier," notes Dominic Sunnebo, Business Unit Director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe.
"Huawei, who have become the third largest brand across Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, have contributed to the growth of the Android ecosystem, disrupted sales for Samsung and some local brands, and captured those leaving Windows and Nokia.
The team at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech assert that while Huawei has traditionally struggled in Great Britain, these latest new figures show indications that the company is improving its position in the region.
