iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are top-sellers in the UK
Smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows both iOS and Android making gains across the EU5 countries.
In Great Britain, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were top-sellers during the month of September, accounting for 15.1% of sales. In the third quarter of 2016, iOS accounted for 40.6% of smartphone sales, a 2.4 percentage point increase from the same period a year ago. It’s interesting to note the continued success of the iPhone SE in Britain, accounting for 8.5% of sales in the quarter vs. a share of just 3.5% in the US.
Britain is the only market where Samsung made year-on-year gains, totaling 30.4% of smartphone sales. In Italy, Huawei replaced Samsung as the reigning smartphone leader to become the top brand sold at 27.3%, a 15.2 percentage point gain vs. the third quarter 2015. Samsung accounted for 24.7% of smartphone sales in Italy, a decline from 40.6%. In Spain, Huawei and Samsung are now neck-and-neck, with Samsung edging out Huawei 24.2% vs. 23.3%. iOS share fell in Germany from 17.5% to 15%, and in Urban China from 18.7% to 14.2%.
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.
In Urban China, Android accounted for 85.3% of smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2016, its second highest share ever in this market.
Oppo continues to see significant growth, gaining 8.2 percentage points over the past year to become the 4th largest manufacturer in Urban China with 11.2% of smartphone sales. The Oppo R9 overtook the iPhone 6s as the best-selling device in the third quarter. iOS posted yet another year-on-year decline to 14.2% of smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2016. Importantly, this marks a period-on-period return to growth in sales, up from 13.5% in the three months ending in August. With supply constrained on the iPhone 7, and particularly the 7 Plus, this positive turn for Apple is a good sign, suggesting that as supply grows to meet demand, Apple will be able to turn the tide in Urban China.
