Apple Records Massive Growth in US, China Markets; Xiaomi Mi 8 Becomes the Top Selling Phone in China: Kantar Worldpanel

Apple is making strides in its home market with a massive 5.0 percentage point increase in OS share for the company for the quarter ending September 2018, a report says. In fact, this is the biggest gain seen worldwide in the same quarter. The iPhone 8 has emerged as the top seller with about 9.4 percent market share in the US smartphone market. Additionally, Apple has lost out to Android smartphone makers in European markets. In China, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Apple have increased their market share given the recent launch of flagship handsets.

As per data reported by Kantar Worldpanel on Monday, Apple continues to grow in the US market with the launch of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, combined with the strong sales of last year's iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models. In fact, the iPhone 8 ruled the market this quarter with a 9.4 percent share. iPhone XR was released after the quarter and its growth is expected to reflect in next quarter's results.

Europe appears to show a different picture in the smartphone market. Samsung continues to lead in the market, followed by Huawei at the second spot thanks to strong sales of the P20 series. European customers are holding on to their smartphones for two months longer than they did in 2016, prompting innovation in the industry.

Chinese phone makers are also gaining ground in the European market. “Xiaomi is continuing to expand rapidly in Spain and, more recently, in Italy and France. The focused push that the two Chinese giants (Xiaomi and Huawei) are making into Europe is causing pain for their rivals across the board. However, it is Sony, LG, and Wiko who are being disproportionally impacted as a result of their historic over-reliance on the ultra-competitive low and mid-price tiers.”

Among the top five major European markets, the Samsung Galaxy S9 remained the top selling smartphone this quarter. Even the Galaxy Note 9 has ranked among the top 10 smartphone models. Huawei and Xiaomi graced the top 5 table for the first time, it seems, with the Huawei P20 Lite and Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, respectively.

Coming to the major market of China, the Xiaomi Mi 8 remained the top selling smartphone for quarter ending September 2018. iPhone X was placed at the second spot, as iPhone models made up three of top four smartphone models. Oppo has substantially lost market share and is down to 8.4 percent from 14.1 percent just a year ago.

In the Japanese market, Apple remained the market leader despite strong domestic pressure from Sharp and Huawei. Sharp and Huawei made it to the top five list in the Asian country with their Aquos R2 and P20 Lite, respectively. For a detailed view of the changes, you can check out Kantar Worldpanel's country-wise graph.