Kantar Worldpanel ComTech

Kantar: iPhone 6s/7/Plus were 3 most popular smartphones in U.S. in November

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 11, 2017

Kantar Worldpanel previously said that iOS achieved its strongest growth and the highest market share in the United States in more than two years. In its latest survey, the market intelligence company found out that iPhone's share of the U.S. smartphone market grew 6.4 percent year-on-year in the three months ending in November 2016.

iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were the country's three most popular smartphones during November, with the handsets taking share from Google's Android platform in most markets globally.

New iPhones help Apple capture record smartphone share in China

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 2, 2015

Apple's been making some impressive strides in China, its second-biggest market by revenue and home to a population of 1.33 billion people.

On the weight of strong sales of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, the Cupertino firm has now hit an all-time high share, with iOS accounting for a record 27.6 percent volume share of the Chinese smartphone market versus 17.9 percent a year ago.

Kantar data for the three months ending in February proves the iPhone 6 has remained the country's top-selling smartphone in the period. It's grown from 9.5 percent of sales recorded in the previous period ending in January to 10.2 percent ending in February. Xiaomi's iPhone 6 Plus lookalike, the RedMI Note, took the second spot, followed by Apple's 5.5-inch phablet-class iPhone 6 Plus, which grabbed the third place.

For the first time since 2012, Apple sells more phones in US than Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 4, 2015

Wednesday, TechCrunch relayed a new survey by market research firm Kantar Worldpanel which underscores a small victory in Apple's global rivalry with Android as the company overtook Android vendors in terms of units shipped in the United States during the last three months of 2014.

Driven by the introduction of its larger-screened iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple took a 47.7 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market. Android grabbed a 47.6 percent share and Windows Phone accounted for just 3.8 percent of smartphone sales.

iPhone 6 Plus grabs 41 percent of US phablet sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2014

Kantar Worldpanel, a WPP-owned market researcher, yesterday revealed that the latest iPhones helped Apple gain share over Android around the world while the iPhone 5c outsold the iPhone 6 Plus in the U.S. during the last three months up to October 31.

Today, Kantar is back with some additional newsworthy data pertaining to “phablet” sales.

For those wondering, phablets are typically defined as smartphones with a screen size of 5.5 inches and larger. The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, Kantar said, captured as much as 41 percent of sales of phablets in the U.S. alone. As for the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6, it grabbed 33 percent market share to become the best-selling iOS device in the period.

Kantar: iPhone 6 helps Apple gain share over Android, iPhone 5c outselling iPhone 6 Plus in US

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 3, 2014

In the last three months up to October 31, Apple's misunderstood iPhone 5c outsold the iPhone 6 Plus in the United States.

Moreover, overall sales of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets has bumped up Apple's market share against Android around the world, according to the latest smartphone survey by Kantar Worldpanel, the WPP-owned market researcher.

The research firm reported Wednesday that Apple is poised for a record quarter amid “a huge jump in sales share across almost all major markets” thanks to the new iPhones.

iPhone 5c outsold Galaxy S5 in the UK

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 2, 2014

I'm sick and tired of hearing armchair analysts repeatedly proclaiming Apple's unapologetically plastic iPhone 5c a failure just because sales numbers don't meet their wet dream targets.

I bought an iPhone 5c for my Mom's birthday. My friend owns one. Yes, I even see it used in public.

To this date, not a single iPhone 5c owner exhibited a case of buyer's remorse.

I mean, you never hear anyone complaining about Apple's practice of keeping past two iPhone generations on the market at reduced prices whenever a new model comes along. The strategy has served the company well and that's exactly what the iPhone 5c is - a previous-gen iPhone repackaged inside a plastic chassis, sold at a discount.

A lot of ink has been spilled to paint the iPhone 5c a dud, but time and again real world numbers simply don't corroborate this notion. A good example is a new Kantar survey proving that Apple's mid-tier handset beat Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5 in terms of sales in the United Kingdom...

iPhone boosts T-Mobile sales, overtakes Android in Japan

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 1, 2013

The iPhone has fueled smartphone sales by Apple's latest U.S. carrier partner, Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile USA. In the three-month period ended in August, the service provider saw its share of domestic smartphone sales jump to 13.2 percent, up 1 percent.

According to a report released Monday, the carrier began in April attracting owners of feature phones upgrading to smartphones. Now, however, 56 percent of consumers buying an iPhone from T-Mobile are coming from another smartphone. Indeed, more than 38 percent of T-Mobile's smartphone purchasers previously owned Android handsets...

Apple’s iPhone grows to 43 percent of US smartphones

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 4, 2013

Continued good news for Apple in the United States. The iPhone has more than 43 percent of the domestic market, marking a 7.8 percent jump over the July quarter of 2012. The increase appears to be largely at the expense of Android, which saw its share of the U.S. market fall during the period.

Additionally, although the market share of iOS declined throughout much of Europe, the iPhone in Great Britain saw a 7.8 percent jump between the three-month period of 2012 and 2013, according to an analytics firm...

Apple trims Android’s U.S. smartphone lead as Verizon sells most iPhones

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 29, 2013

Apple is making a slight dent in Android's lead among U.S. smartphone owners, picking up more than three percentage points of market share at the end of the June 2013 quarter. By comparison, Google's mobile software slipped a bit, giving up almost one percent, according to new research.

By the end of the June quarter, Apple's iOS had 42.5 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, up from 39.2 percent a year earlier. By contrast, Android fell to 51.5 percent from 52.6 percent during the same period, according to research firm Kantar Monday...

Apple closes gap with Android in May, thanks to T-Mobile

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 8, 2013

Apple may want to thank its newest U.S. carrier partner, T-Mobile USA, for helping narrow the gap between iOS and Google's leading Android smartphone software. According to a newly-released market survey, Android had 52 percent of the domestic market in May 2013 while Apple scored 41.9 percent, a 3.5 percent gain over the same end of May period in 2012.

The figures are slightly encouraging to Apple, which held 39 percent of the U.S. smartphone market according to another research firm in June. Remarkable about today's numbers is how the iPhone accounted for more than half of T-Mobile smartphone sales, enticing a higher-than-average percent of feature phone owners to upgrade to the Apple handset...

Almost half of European smartphones bear Samsung label

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 1, 2013

We've known Samsung is the leading Android brand, but now comes word handsets from the South Korean firm account for almost half of the smartphones sold in Europe, where handsets are typically sold separate of wireless contracts. Even more striking, Samsung boosted Google's mobile operating system to the point it where seven out of each ten smartphones are Android-based in Europe, according to new research.

Of course, this isn't surprising knowing Android serves a multitude of price points and form factors whereas Apple is content (for now) milking the high-end. So, where's Apple? Although European market share for the iPhone maker's iOS is a distant second-place to Android, loyalty to the Apple brand outshines Samsung, the Monday report found...

Chart: Android owns two-thirds of smartphone sales – or does it?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Some intriguing numbers were released Monday on how one research firm views the smartphone race between iOS and Android. According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Google's Android averages a 64 percent unit share of the smartphone market across ten countries.

Apple leads in Japan while Android's doing its best in Spain, where the mobile software owns an astounding 93 percent of the smartphone market.

In the U.S., the race is much tighter, with Android holding 49.3 percent and Apple owning 43.7 percent of the domestic market. But the rivals might be even closer as observers question how accurate Kantar is, given recent iPhone sales reports by U.S. carriers...