Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus boost iOS Share in US

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reports a solid US market share increase for iOS during the third quarter of 2016 to 34.2% (plus 5.2%). Both iOS and Android made gains across most of the EU5 countries (Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain ). However, Android posted a 3.3 percentage point decline in the US from 66.7% to 63.4%, while iOS share fell in Germany from 17.5% to 15% and in Urban China from 18.7% to 14.2%.

Lauren Guenveur, Consumer Insight Director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech:

"In the US, the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models made an immediate impact, becoming the best-selling smartphones in the month of September at 17.1%. Strong sales of the iPhone 7 and the lower-priced iPhone 6s, the second best-selling device in the US in September, contributed to an overall growth of iOS to 34.2% in the third quarter of 2016.

Despite some sales from the beleaguered Samsung Galaxy Note 7, still technically available through the month of September, Samsung posted a year-on-year decline from 36.9% to 33.8% of US smartphone sales in the third quarter. The holiday sales season may prove to be more challenging than normal for Samsung, who competes head-to-head with Apple during this crucial time of year."

Fallout from the Note 7 recall could have an unintended impact on continuing sales of other, similarly-named Samsung devices like the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, as consumers may not always understand the difference between the model names, Guenveur continues. However, deep holiday discounts, as seen with the Galaxy S6 last year, may counteract any expected negative impact, as the driving reason for choice among US consumers remains finding a good deal on the price of the phone.

In Urban China Oppo (BBK) continues to see significant growth, gaining 8.2 percentage points over the past year to become the 4th largest manufacturer with 11.2% of smartphone sales. The Oppo R9 overtook the iPhone 6s as the best-selling device in the third quarter, reported Tamsin Timpson, Strategic Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia.

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