Ahead of iPhone Launch, iOS Continues Growth

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Sep 6, 2016) - The latest smartphone OS data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows year-on-year sales growth for iOS in the three months ending July 2016 in most regions, including the US, EU5, and Australia. In the US, Android posted a year-on-year decline in sales of 0.6 percentage points to 65%.

Europe's big five markets include Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

"Ahead of Apple's event this week and anticipated new iPhone models, we see that the iPhone SE has meant some success for iOS, helping it achieve year-on-year growth across a number of regions," said Lauren Guenveur, Consumer Insight Director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. "In the US, iOS accounted for 31.3% of smartphone sales in the three months ending July 2016, a 1.2 percentage point increase compared to the same period a year ago."

"The iPhone 6s remains the top-selling device in the market with an 11% share, something we expect to continue through the launch of the next iPhone, with price reductions incentivizing people to upgrade their current phones even if they might not feel a need for the 'latest and greatest,'" Guenveur added. "Interestingly, the iPhone 6, which is approaching the end of its expected lifecycle, is still the sixth best-selling phone in the US, achieving 4.1% of smartphone sales in the latest period."

"In Great Britain, iOS achieved a 5.2 percentage point increase vs. a year ago, to account for 38% of smartphone sales in the three months ending July 2016. This is the strongest growth in share since the three-month period ending September 2015. Android also posted growth, with 57.3% of smartphone sales, up from 54.4% in the previous year," reported Dominic Sunnebo, Business Unit Director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe. "In the three months ending June, although iOS returned to growth in EU5, it still had slight share losses in Italy and Spain. However, during the three months ending July, iOS share increased in both markets to 12.7% and 9.2%, respectively. Android also continued to achieve a share increase, while the largest year-on-year losses were experienced by Windows."

"In Urban China, Android accounted for 85% of smartphone sales in the three months ending July 2016, a record high for Android in this region. Huawei also continued to expand its share to reach 27.6%. Xiaomi is in a solid second position with 18.5% of smartphones sales, followed by Apple in third place at 14.3%," explained Tamsin Timpson, Strategic Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia. "For Apple and iOS, this represents a continued period of decline that started in the three-month period ending February 2016. However, 33% of the current iOS installed base owns an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, representing a large opportunity for iOS to return to growth in the coming months as the latest iPhone is released and consumers contemplate the upgrade."

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To view an HTML version of the summary data and an optional PDF file, please visit:
www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/News/Ahead-of-iPhone-Launch-iOS-Continues-Growth

Additional insights are available in our blog post:
www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/News/The-Beat-Goes-On-iPhone-7-is-here-almost

Smartphone OS Sales Share (%)
Germany		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change		USA		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change
Android		73.7		79.8		6.1		Android		65.6		65		-0.6
iOS		15.2		15.2		0.0		iOS		30.1		31.3		1.2
Windows		10.1		4.8		-5.3		Windows		3.8		2.4		-1.4
Other		1		0.1		-0.9		Other		0.5		1.3		0.8
GB		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change		China		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change
Android		54.4		57.3		2.9		Android		79.4		85.0		5.6
iOS		32.8		38.0		5.2		iOS		18.7		14.3		-4.4
Windows		11.9		4.3		-7.6		Windows		1.5		0.2		-1.3
Other		1		0.4		-0.6		Other		0.4		0.5		0.1
France		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change		Australia		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change
Android		69.6		75.6		6.0		Android		56.1		60.2		4.1
iOS		17		18.8		1.8		iOS		34.9		35.2		0.3
Windows		12.6		4.9		-7.7		Windows		6.9		2.9		-4.0
Other		0.7		0.7		0.0		Other		2.1		1.7		-0.4
Italy		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change		Japan		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change
Android		72.9		82.5		9.6		Android		62.9		64.6		1.7
iOS		11.4		12.7		1.3		iOS		35.1		34.1		-1.0
Windows		14.3		4.7		-9.6		Windows		0.1		0.6		0.5
Other		1.4		0.1		-1.3		Other		1.8		0.6		-1.2
Spain		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change		EU5		3 me Jul 15		3 me Jul 16		% pt. Change
Android		89.4		90		0.6		Android		71.0		77.0		6.1
iOS		6.6		9.2		2.6		iOS		17.2		18.4		1.2
Windows		4		0.6		-3.4		Windows		10.9		4.2		-6.7
Other		0		0.1		0.1		Other		0.9		0.3		-0.6

About Kantar Worldpanel ComTech's Smartphone OS Market Share Data
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech's smartphone OS market share data provides the media and businesses with access to the most up-to-date sales and market share figures for the major smartphone operating systems. This information is based on research extracted from the Kantar Worldpanel ComTech global consumer panel. ComTech is the largest continuous consumer research mobile phone tracking panel of its kind in the world, conducting over one million interviews per year in Europe alone. ComTech tracks mobile phone behavior -- including phone purchases, bills/airtime, source of purchase, and usage. It also delivers additional data to promote an understanding of the drivers of share changes, and consumer insight market dynamics. All consumer data in this release excludes enterprise sales.

About Kantar Worldpanel
Kantar Worldpanel is the global expert in shoppers' behavior. Through continuous monitoring, advanced analytics, and tailored solutions, Kantar Worldpanel inspires successful decisions by brand owners, retailers, market analysts, and government organizations globally. With over 60 years' experience, a team of 3,500, and services covering 60 countries directly or through partners, Kantar Worldpanel turns purchase behavior into competitive advantage in markets as diverse as FMCG, impulse products, fashion, baby, telecommunications and entertainment, among many others.

Kantar Worldpanel is part of the Kantar Group, one of the world's largest insight, information, and consultancy networks. The Kantar Group is the data investment management division of WPP.

For further information, please visit: www.kantarworldpanel.com
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About Kantar
Kantar is the data investment management division of WPP, and one of the world's largest insight, information, and consultancy groups. By connecting the diverse talents of its 12 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Kantar's 27,000 employees work across 100 countries and the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to deliver business insights from every point of the consumer cycle. The group's services are employed by over half of the Fortune 500 companies.

For further information, please visit: www.kantar.com
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