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Android OS Share in China Gets Boost from New Year’s Sales
iOS Share Declines in Urban China for First Time Since August 2014
London, April 6, 2016 – The latest smartphone OSdata from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech for thethree months ending February 2016shows that Android increased its sales share in urban China to 76.4% from 73% in the same period a year ago. In the US and EU5, Android continued to make year-on-year gains.
Europe's big five markets include Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
“Android showed solid growth in urban China during the three months ending February 2016, due to strong sales during the period around Chinese New Year (February 8). This is always a busy promotional season, and Android brands were able to take advantage,”said Lauren Guenveur, mobile analyst for Kantar WorldpanelComTech.“Up-and-coming local brands Meizu and Oppo both showed strong year-on-year growth, each capturing about 6% of smartphone sales.”
“For the first time since August 2014, iOS share did not grow in urban China in the 3 months ending February,” said Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia. “iOS declined 3.2 percentage points between February 2015 and February 2016. Huawei was able to recapture the top spot on the Smartphone brand leader board, capturing 24.4% of Smartphones sold in urban China, just ahead of Apple’s 22.2%.”
“While Android’s share grew steadily in the EU5, performance varied considerably by market, underlining the impact that Huawei and local vendors are making in some markets,” noted Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe. “In Great Britain, 42% of the smartphone market falls in the premium category, and Huawei’s premium spec devices offering very good value for money have not yet tempted enough of Great Britain’s consumers. Android will be counting on Samsung’s new flagship devices to challenge Apple’s dominance.”
“In the US, the average spend on purchasing a smartphone in the three months ending February was $352. For Android buyers that meant that roughly 69% of consumers reported spend under $350, while foriOS buyers, that share was 39%.This represents a unique opportunity for the newly launched iPhone SE, which, at a $399 price point, will likely appeal to more cost-conscious first-time smartphone buyers who might otherwise be more inclined to pick up an Android smartphone, and to the sizable installed base of iPhoneowners who have not yet upgraded,”Guenveur said.
“With the iPhone SE going on sale last week, wewill be closely tracking initial acceptance and uptake of this $399 addition to the iOS offering,” Guenveur added.“There are also significant numbers of potential buyers, particularly in China, who may not be able to afford the high price of a flagship iPhone but may find that the iPhone SE lets them take their first step into the Apple ecosystem.”
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Smartphone OS Sales Share (%)Germany / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change / USA / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change
Android / 72.7 / 76.6 / 3.9 / Android / 55.6 / 58.9 / 3.3
iOS / 17.4 / 16.2 / -1.2 / iOS / 38.8 / 38.3 / -0.5
Windows / 8.2 / 6.3 / -1.9 / Windows / 4.8 / 2.6 / -2.2
Other / 1.7 / 0.9 / -0.8 / Other / 0.8 / 0.2 / -0.6
GB / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change / China / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change
Android / 53.2 / 55.5 / 2.3 / Android / 73.0 / 76.4 / 3.4
iOS / 37.9 / 37.8 / -0.1 / iOS / 25.4 / 22.2 / -3.2
Windows / 7.8 / 6.2 / -1.6 / Windows / 0.9 / 0.9 / 0.0
Other / 1.1 / 0.5 / -0.6 / Other / 0.7 / 0.5 / -0.2
France / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change / Australia / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change
Android / 62.7 / 71.8 / 9.1 / Android / 51.3 / 55.1 / 3.8
iOS / 21.6 / 19.9 / -1.7 / iOS / 37.9 / 38.2 / 0.3
Windows / 14.2 / 7.4 / -6.8 / Windows / 9.1 / 5.8 / -3.3
Other / 1.5 / 0.9 / -0.6 / Other / 1.7 / 0.9 / -0.8
Italy / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change / Japan / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change
Android / 66.3 / 78.4 / 12.1 / Android / 47.9 / 48.2 / 0.3
iOS / 17.5 / 14.3 / -3.2 / iOS / 49.8 / 50.2 / 0.4
Windows / 14.4 / 6.7 / -7.7 / Windows / 0.3 / 0.5 / 0.2
Other / 1.8 / 0.6 / -1.2 / Other / 2.0 / 1.1 / -0.9
Spain / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change / EU5 / 3 m/e Feb 15 / 3 m/e Feb 16 / % pt. Change
Android / 88 / 90 / 2.0 / Android / 67.7 / 74.3 / 6.7
iOS / 8.7 / 9.1 / 0.4 / iOS / 20.9 / 19.1 / -1.8
Windows / 2.9 / 0.9 / -2.0 / Windows / 10.1 / 5.9 / -4.2
Other / 0.4 / 0.0 / -0.4 / Other / 1.4 / 0.6 / -0.7
Note: The Kantar Worldpanel ComTech dataviz can be embedded into online articles for a visual representation of Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Smartphone OS market share data. Click hereto copy the embed code.
About Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s Smartphone OS Market Share Data
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s smartphone OS market share data provides the media and businesses with access to the most up-to-date sales and market share figures for the major smartphone operating systems. This information is based on research extracted from the Kantar Worldpanel ComTech global consumer panel. ComTech is the largest continuous consumer research / mobile phone tracking panel of its kind in the world, conducting over one million interviews per year in Europe alone. ComTech tracks mobile phone behaviour – including phone purchases, bills/airtime, source of purchase, and usage. It also delivers additional data to promote an understanding of the drivers of share changes, and consumer insight market dynamics. All consumer data in this release excludes enterprise sales.
About Kantar Worldpanel
Kantar Worldpanel is the global expert in shoppers’ behavior.
Through continuous monitoring, advanced analytics, and tailored solutions, Kantar Worldpanel inspires successful decisions by brand owners, retailers, market analysts, and government organizations globally. With over 60 years’ experience, a team of 3,500, and services covering 60 countries directly or through partners, Kantar Worldpanel turns purchase behavior into competitive advantage in markets as diverse as FMCG, impulse products, fashion, baby, telecommunications and entertainment, among many others.
Kantar Worldpanel is part of the Kantar Group, one of the world’s largest insight, information, and consultancy networks. The Kantar Group is the data investment management division of WPP.
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About Kantar
Kantar is the data investment management division of WPP, and one of the world's largest insight, information, and consultancy groups. By connecting the diverse talents of its 12 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Kantar’s 27,000 employees work across 100 countries and the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to deliver business insights from every point of the consumer cycle. The group’s services are employed by over half of the Fortune 500 companies.
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