| | | Apple Growth Continues to Outpace Android
By Paul Ausick | 24/7 Wall St. –
The Android operating system from Google Inc. ( GOOG) claims about 70% of the market in the five large
European economies: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. But sales growth has slowed
and Apple Inc. ( AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT) are gaining ground more quickly.
According to the latest data from Kantar WorldPanel ComTech, Android is slipping:
After years of increasing market share, Android has now reached a point where significant growth in
developed markets is becoming harder to find. Android’s growth has been spearheaded by Samsung, but
the manufacturer is now seeing its share of sales across the major European economies dip year on year
as a sustained comeback from Sony, Nokia and LG begins to broaden the competitive landscape.
A similar survey in June showed that Apple’s iOS was growing market share faster than Android by a rate
of 2.3% to 1.8%.
Perhaps the biggest news is that Windows Phone has hit double-digits in European market share in both
France and the United Kingdom, posting 10.8% and 12.0% share, respectively. Kantar notes this is the first
time the Microsoft mobile operating system has posted double-digit market share in two major markets.
Kantar also notes that the growth in Windows Phone share is “driven by Nokia’s expansion into the low and
mid range market.” Nokia Corp. ( NOK) has agreed to sell its mobile business to Microsoft for $7.1 billion.
In the United States, Apple’s market share of 39.3% is expected to “spike” as the new iPhones hit the market.
Kantar also believes that the addition of the iPhones to the lineup at Japan’s largest wireless carrier “makes
it likely that Apple will pull ahead of Android” in Japan. |
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