A recent Kantar World Panel report has revealed that Apple’s iOS continues to grow in the US and with a share of 42% in the three months ending February 2019, up 38.3% compared to the previous year. Looking by comparison, Android dropped to 55.9% of smartphone sales.
Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are still one of the best selling smartphones in the US, staying at their top positions since the three month’s period ending November 2016. Apple did state earlier this year that the iPhone 7 set an all-time sales record, contributing to 64% of its Q1 2017 revenue.
Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones initially helped increase sales of Android-running devices in the US, but the two phones are now below 25 of smartphone sales, partially because of supply constraints that made it somewhat difficult for consumers to get their hands on Google’s smartphones.
Also, Kantar reveals that 23% of US consumers, who intend to purchase a new smartphone over the next six months, would consider Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL, which means that sales may increase until their successors are announced.
The numbers showed that iOS saw a decline in other major markets, like China, where its market share dropped 8.9% over the period of one year, while Android increased 9.3%. Apple recorded the lowest share in China in the past three years, reaching a market share of just 13.2%, compared to Android’s 86.4% share.
Android’s share also increased in major markets in Europe, reaching 75.2% of smartphone sales, compared to iOS’ growth to 21.8% of sales. The report also mentions that the shifts in market could be recorded in the remainder of Q1 and the second quarter of this year, considering that Samsung has just announced its Galaxy S8 flagship and Apple released a red variant of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, together with an upgrade to iPhone SE.
