Looking back over the past three months, Apple has been gaining momentum both in Europe and the US, thanks to a healthy demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, reports Kantar Worldpanel Comtech (via TechCrunch).
While Android is the undisputed leader in terms of OS market share, accounting for 73.9% of the European market, Apple occupies the second spot with 15.4%, while Windows has only 9.2% of the smartphone market on the old continent.
Our latest data covers the first few days of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus being available in Europe and it is clear that demand has been high for the eagerly awaited new models. In Great Britain, where the new iPhone models started shipping on 19 September, Apple saw its sales share up by 1.7% compared with the same period last year, taking share of iOS to 31%. Across the major European markets, where the new iPhone models were made available between the 19 and 26 September, initial sales of the new iPhone models have overwhelmingly been from existing iPhone owners (87%).
The launch of new devices from LG and Motorola has reignited competition in the US, and positively affected smartphone sales. According to Kantar’s data, sales have jumped 35% during the past three months in the US compared to the same period a year ago.
Apple has seen its market share shrink by 3% compared to a year ago, but there are strong signs of a healthy demand for the iPhone 6, reports Kantar.
Looking at the next three months, and judging by brand preference as reported by smartphone owners looking to replace and featurephone owners looking to acquire their first smartphone, it is clear that Apple will fair well. Among the 6% of US smartphone owners who are looking to upgrade their devices in the next three months, 52% of them say Apple is their brand of choice. Among the 4% of featurephone owners who are looking to upgrade to smartphones, 19% of them said they prefer Apple to other brands.
Looking at China, the market research company says that during the past three months, sales have been dominated by smartphones of screen size of 5.5 inches or larger. This is a positive indicator, says Kantar, that the iPhone 6 Plus will likely be a success in this key market for Apple.
