While Windows Phone slowly fades, Android is stronger than ever, experiencing growth in all markets except Japan. The numbers Kantar released tell us that Android is getting more and more sales while iOS is losing sales everywhere except France and Japan.
The biggest growth was recorded in Italy, where Android got a 12.1 percent increase in comparison to last year, probably because many users from Italy are leaving Windows Phone. Sales in France jumped by 9.7 percent, also a big increase, while in the USA Android saw the increase in sales of 7.3 percent. When looking EU market combined, Android got a respectful 7.1 percent increase of market share.
While Android is doing great, Windows Phone and iOS are falling. And while Windows Phone’s fall is pretty dramatic, Apple needs not to worry, at least for now. iOS saw the biggest decline in China, where it lost 5 percent of sales, and in the USA market, where it saw a drop of 4.9 percent. In EU combined market iOS lost 1.2 percent of sales, and saw the biggest loss in Italy, with 2.7 percent sales decline.
Android holds 75.6 percent of the market in EU, 65.5 percent in the USA, 77.7 in China, and 60.1 in Australia. iOS, on the other hand, holds 18.9 percent of sales in the EU (a drop from 20.2 it had during last year), 31.6 percent in the USA, 21.1 In China, and 35.3 in Australia. The biggest market share Android has is in Spain, where it holds 92.9 percent of the market, an incredible result. The biggest market share iOS has, on the other hand, is in Japan, where Apple holds 46.8 percent of sales; Japan is also the only country, aside from France (a rise of 0.6 percent), that saw a rise of iOS market share year to year by 1.7 percent.
It looks like Android won most of the former Windows Phone users, and release of Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge also contributed in increased market share. Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe said that “For those switching from Windows, Android has offered a better user experience, with a variety of brands and models across a multitude of price points.”
Lauren Guenveur, mobile analyst for Kantar WorldPanel ComTech said that “In EU5, share growth from the Samsung Galaxy S7 – expected to be one of the most popular phones of the year – has not yet occurred. As the impact of the S7 materializes, it may change the nature and path of the Android market,” hinting that Goggle’s mobile OS could increase its already huge market share in EU market. IT seems that Apple will saw further drops in market share, at least ‘till September when they’ll announce the new iPhone 7.