Android Bites Into iPhone Market Share

Apple isn’t just struggling with declining sales of its Apple Watch but also its flagship iPhone, which contributes the most to its annual sales, new market research has found.

With a 33.6 percent share in the U.S. smartphone market, Apple saw a year-over-year decline. However, with the release and gain in popularity of the iPhone 6s — the third most popular smartphone in the market — the company saw a quarter-over-quarter improvement, as shares remained up, according to a Kantar Worldpanel ComTech report.

“Samsung retained its leading position in the U.S. smartphone market, and for the first time in 2015, the South Korean brand was able to show year-on-year growth,” said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

But as one would guess, Apple’s loss equals Samsung’s gain. The South Korean electronics giant is now not only beating Apple on its home turf but has even begun to shift the mood of European consumers.

“In Great Britain, Android’s decline considerably decelerated in the three months ending in Oct. 2015, thanks to stronger performance by Samsung and LG,” said Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe.

An improving atmosphere in Europe’s top markets, including Spain, Italy and France, also fueled Android’s growth, the report found. “OS success did not produce a clear vendor win, as different names showed strength in different countries: Huawei in Italy and Spain and Samsung in France,” said Milanesi. “The decline in iOS was marginal and primarily driven by a deceleration of growth in Great Britain and Germany. Sales of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus already represented close to a third of iOS sales in Europe’s big five markets.”

While, as the report points out, the drop in sales could be seen as reflective of a decline in popularity of the “S” series phones, with a new iPhone 7 expected to be released next year, the numbers may climb up for Apple after all.