Apple overtook Android in the U.S. smartphone OS market during the fourth quarter of 2014, although by a very slim margin of 0.1%.
According to smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech for the last three months of 2014, this is the first time that Apple iOS has exceeded Android in terms of U.S. market share since the same period in 2012. In the Q4 period, iOS increased its share by 3.8 percentage points to 47.7%, while Android’s share slipped by 3.8 percentage points to 47.6%.
“While the success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is unprecedented, this quarter’s performance also points to Apple having its strongest portfolio ever. With a range of devices available at different price points in both contract and pre-pay Apple was able to take advantage of a weaker Android offering at the premium end of the market,” said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
Throughout the holiday quarter, the iPhone 6 was the best-selling smartphone in the U.S. and was also the most popular smartphone to give as a gift. Samsung retained its number two spot in the vendor chart with the Galaxy S5, which was the second best-selling smartphone, Kantar said.
The research company also noted that Apple’s share of sales grew across Europe and China during the Q4 period. In Europe, Kantar counts sales in the big five markets: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Across Europe, Android’s share declined by 3.8 percentage points year-on-year to 66.1% while iOS rose by 6.2 percentage points to 24.1%. Windows Phone, soon to be Windows 10, had seen some success across Europe in 2013 but continued to struggle in the latest period, recording minimal growth only in France and Germany.
In Urban China, the Apple iOS also increased its share year-on-year at the expense of Android.
“While Xiaomi remained the bestselling brand in the latest period, Apple was able to close the gap slightly, growing its share to 21.5% from 19% last year,” said Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia.
Almost a quarter of Chinese consumers who bought an iPhone in the past three months were acquiring their first smartphone, compared to 16.5% for the same period in 2013, Kantar noted.
Meanwhile smartphone penetration reached 59% in the U.S. and 67% across Europe’s top five economies, while emerging markets such as Brazil (35%) and Mexico (37%) still have some way to go to catch up.
