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Q4 2015: iPhone loses sales share in US & elsewhere; Android in China.

Kantar December Report

Kantar Worldpanel has made its December 2015 Smartphone Sales share report public. The report that cover sales share of major smartphone platforms for three months ending December 2015, throws light on how major platforms iOS, Android and Windows have fared during Q4 2015. Having a cursory look at the image above tells us that iOS has lost sale share in nearly all the markets except China as compared to the same period last year. Check highlights of the report below.

Highlights:

  • In US, iOS has lost 8.6% sales share as compared to 2014, while Android has gained 11.5%. Major loss for Apple in US.
  • In China, iOS has gained 5.6% sales share, while Android had lost 5.6%. Apple is the top smartphone brand in China in Q4, 2015 wih 27% sales share.
  • In all other markets including top five European markets that the report covers, iOS has lost sales share while Android has been the major beneficiary of this loss.

Apple was able to convert less Android users to its iPhones this quarter in US, while in other markets its growth has slowed down considerably making it lose share on a Y-O-O basis.

From the report,

The latest smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech for the December 2015 quarter shows Android’s steady growth continuing in the U.S. and EU5 where Android reached 59 and 71 percent respectively.

Now more than ever it is interesting to highlight the difference in performance of iOS versus Apple. As a vendor, Apple was able to return to the top of the leader boards in the U.S. and China, while iOS has struggled to return to the market share it saw in 2014 across a number of markets, especially in the U.S.,” reported Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. “Apple loyalty in the U.S. is at its highest since 2012, reinforcing the fact that customer retention is not an issue. However, customer acquisition from Android has gone from 13% in 4Q14 to 11% in 4Q15, and the contribution that first-time smartphone buyers make to Apple overall sales numbers went from 20% to 11% over that same period.”

“In urban China, Apple regained its title of most-sold smartphone brand with a share of 27% and had the top three models in that market,” commented Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia. “Huawei remained the top seller within the Android ecosystem as it captured 34% of sales. Xiaomi is now a distant second in the ranking at 10 percentage points below Huawei.”

“The U.S. market continues to be very competitive as smartphone penetration reached 65% among mobile phone users and 84% of overall mobile phone sales,” noted Milanesi. “The pool of available new buyers is shrinking and Android’s wider price range helps them grab late adopters looking for their first smartphone. During the quarter, 31% of Android buyers upgraded from a feature phone, only slightly lower than the 34% recorded in the same period of 2014. This trend is impacting vendors within the Android ecosystem as brands with more price competitive offerings, such as Huawei, LG, ZTE and Alcatel, are growing in market share at the expense of brands such as Samsung and HTC.

Source

NM
NM has more than 10 years of experience of covering Technology and innovations. He loves to review new cool gadgets and writing about Android, Gadgets and general Technology stuff. Other interests include listening to Nu-Metal Hits and Kick-Boxing. Write to him at Email: [email protected]
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