Smartphone OS share: Apple iPhone gets US boost

Smartphone sales data covering the three months to the end of November 2014 from Kantar show the iPhone’s iOS platform gained share in nearly all regions covered.  Britain and Australia experienced especially strong iPhone growth, with Japan continuing to be the only market tracked where iPhone share is declining.

These trends are broadly consistent with those observed last month, indicating a positive reaction to the new iPhone 6s, although the rate of share growth in Australia has increased significantly. The biggest change from a month ago is iPhone share growth in the US. Last month Apple’s share of the US smartphone market grew by less than a percentage point year-on-year, this time it jumped by four percentage point and is heading back to the heady days of 50% share in its home market.

Android, as the global market leader, contribute much of the share claimed by iOS, but Microsoft still managed to lose a significant chunk of what little share Windows Phone still has, despite climbing off the floor in Japan.

“While remaining the dominant global OS, Android’s market share dropped in most European markets and in the US where the decline was the first since September 2013,” said Carolina Milanesi, Chief of Research at Kantar. “A decline in Android market share does not necessarily translate into bad news for all the ecosystem’s players. The choice of brands and devices within the ecosystem empowers consumers to drive different fortunes for the players in it.”

One place Apple is struggling to make much of a dent in Android’s domination is China, thanks to the many local players offering cut-price Android phones there. “The wide variety of products offered by local manufacturers continues to push Android’s share,” said Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Asia. “Xiaomi remains the biggest contributor to Android’s success as it averaged 30.2% of sales in the three months ending in November, an astonishing 18 percentage point rise over 2013.”

Here are the numbers.

The Iphone 6 Continues To Boost Apple’S Smartphone Os Share