iPhone Sales Rise in the EU, US; Android Sales See a Drop in the US: Kantar

iPhone 7 was a top seller in EU5 with iOS holding a 22.7 percent share - a climb of 2.4 percentage points.

Android was second and accounted for 74.3 percent of smartphone sales, with a marginal increase from 72.9 percent in the three months ending January, a new report said.

EU5 stands for European Union Five, in which France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain are members.

According to Spain-based consumer research firm Kantar Worldpanel, iOS achieved continued growth across most regions, except for Japan, Spain and Urban China.

Android also continued to post market share increases in all regions but the US.

The report said iOS and Android were the only two dominating operating systems in the world with BlackBerry OS, Symbian or Windows Mobile losing their grip.

"February's Mobile World Congress 2017 demonstrated the true state of the market, with re-emerging brand names Nokia and Blackberry capturing a lot of attention, but now operating on Android rather than on their own legacy operating systems," said Lauren Guenveur, Global Consumer Insight Director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Two all new Android smartphones - Nokia 3 and Nokia 5, plus the expanded global release of the Nokia 6 - could do well in Western Europe due to loyalty to the Nokia brand name, the report noted.

"HMD Global's focus on revitalising the Nokia name seems concentrated on quality for cost. Its three new Android phones are priced at EUR 229 or less, with Android Nougat, Google Assistant, aluminium construction and otherwise solid mid-range specs," added Dominic Sunnebo, Business Unit Director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe.

Meanwhile, Android remained dominant in Asia accounting for 83.2 percent of smartphones sold in Urban China - an increase of 9.3 percentage points versus the same period a year ago.

Huawei continued to dominate the region at 26.6 percent. Apple and Xiaomi are the second and third largest manufacturers in Asia, with 16.6 percent and 14.5 percent shares respectively.

The picture was different in the US.

Android accounted for 56.4 percent of smartphone sales in the US - down 1.8 percentage points from the period a year earlier. iOS accounted for 42 percent of smartphone sales - up 2.9 percentage points year-on-year.