iPhone 6 Helped iOS Eat Into Android Smartphone Sales: Kantar

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have helped boost the market share of iOS around the world for Apple between September and November 2014, compared to same period the year before, whereas Android market share has dropped, says research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech in its latest smartphone OS sales shares report.

Apple's market share gain, triggered by the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch, helped iOS smartphones reach 47.4 percent share of sales in the US, which is 4.3 percent higher than the same period in 2013.

"The iPhone 6 was the best-selling phone in the three months through November 2014, capturing 19 percent of smartphone sales", said Carolina Milanesi, Chief of Research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech of US sales.

Android smartphone sales on the other hand fell from 50.4 percent to 48.4 percent in the US, putting it just one percent ahead of the iOS.

However Android remained the dominant OS across Europe with a market share of 69.9 percent, but it still lost 3.2 percent over the same period in 2013. Samsung in particular slumped badly across Europe and in the US, whereas Motorola's share grew because of the second generation Moto X and Moto G being good value for the money, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

"A decline in Android market share does not necessarily translate into bad news for all the ecosystem's players. The choice of brands and devices within the ecosystem empowers consumers to drive different fortunes for the players in it", added Milanesi.

For year-over-year comparisons from the 2013 quarter to 2014, iOS grew by 4.3 percent in the US, 12.2 percent in the UK, 9.9 percent in Australia, 6 percent in Italy, 2.2 percent in France, 4.1 percent in Germany, 3.2 percent in Spain, and 1.1 percent in China. Japan was the only exception with 15.3 percent fall in iOS market share.

Overall, the Kantar data suggests that the smartphone (all platforms) penetration reached 58 percent in the US and 65 percent across Europe's big five economies - Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.