Samsung Back to #1 in the US, But Share is Down

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Aug 9, 2017) - The latest smartphone OS data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reveal that in the three months ending May 2017, iOS performance proved strong in the USA, Australia, and Japan, with Android making gains in GB, Germany, and France. In urban China, there was little year-on-year movement, with Android capturing 80.5% of smartphone sales, up one percentage point from a year earlier.

"Samsung regained the top sales spot in the USA in the three-month period ending in May 2017, with market share rising to 36.2% from 32.9% during the previous period," said Dominic Sunnebo, Global Business Unit Director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. "However, this represents a fall of 1.1 percentage points over the past year, with Apple holding a 34.0% share, up 4.7 percentage points from a year earlier. The Galaxy S8 launch helped Samsung regain the top position in the USA, but the bounce from the flagship launch was less than would be expected from a full product redesign."

Apple and Samsung continue to dominate smartphone sales, each with five models on the top 10 best-selling list. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus occupy the top two spots, with the Samsung Galaxy S7 in third place, just ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S8 in the number four spot. The launch of the LG G6 had minimal impact, with the G6 now in thirteenth position with a 1.3% share in the US.

In urban China, iOS share remained almost flat at 19.2%, down 0.4 percentage points year-over-year, though an improvement from 16.2% in the three months ending April 2017. Huawei remained the market leader as its share grew 2.9 percentage points to 28.3%. Xiaomi performance edged up after a challenging few months, with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X coming in as the fourth-best-selling device in the three months ending May 2017.

"Xiaomi managed to regain some momentum with the Note 4X launch, but the brand is making slow progress with its higher-tier devices," said Tamsin Timpson, Strategic Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia. "Xiaomi's average selling price in the three months ending in May was 41% below the market ASP at ¥1523, and 33% below Huawei's Honor Brand."

In EU5, Android accounted for 79.5% of smartphone sales in the three months ending May 2017, increasing 2.8 percentage points from a year earlier, driven by strong performance in GB, Germany, and France. iOS share edged up across Germany, France, and Spain, though declines in Great Britain and Italy meant overall iOS EU5 share remained steady, up 0.2% year-on-year to 18.4%. Europe's big five markets include Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

"Samsung performed well in France in the three months ending in May 2017," Sunnebo noted. "The low- and mid-tier Galaxy J series and A series models enabled Samsung to compete more effectively with home-grown upstart Wiko and global challenger Huawei. However, the largest contributor to Android's EU5 growth came from Huawei, which posted strong sales in all EU5 markets except Spain. Huawei continued to produce good sales volumes, but its flagship P10 struggled to make an impact in sales rankings, with share gains attributed to the older, more value-orientated P8 and P9 Lite models."

Note: The Kantar Worldpanel ComTech dataviz can be embedded into online articles for a visual representation of Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Smartphone OS market share data. Click here to copy the embed code.

Smartphone OS Sales Share (%)
Germany		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change		USA		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change
	Android	78.1	81.9	3.8			Android	68.5	64.8	-3.7
	iOS	15.1	15.6	0.5			iOS	29.3	34	4.7
	Windows	5.6	2.1	-3.5			Windows	1.6	1.1	-0.5
	Other	1.2	0.3	-0.9			Other	0.6	0.1	-0.5
GB		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change		China		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change
	Android	58.6	63.3	4.7			Android	79.5	80.5	1
	iOS	36	34.7	-1.3			iOS	19.6	19.2	-0.4
	Windows	5.1	1.4	-3.7			Windows	0.6	0.2	-0.4
	Other	0.4	0.6	0.2			Other	0.4	0.1	-0.3
France		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change		Australia		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change
	Android	75	80.5	5.5			Android	64.4	61.5	-2.9
	iOS	20.8	18.1	-2.7			iOS	32.5	38.1	5.6
	Windows	4	1.2	-2.8			Windows	2.6	0.2	-2.4
	Other	0.1	0.1	0			Other	0.6	0.2	-0.4
Italy		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change		Japan		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change
	Android	81	82.6	1.6			Android	58.9	50.9	-8
	iOS	12.7	14	1.3			iOS	40.6	48.4	7.8
	Windows	6	3.1	-2.9			Windows	0.1	0	-0.1
	Other	0.3	0.3	0			Other	0.4	0.6	0.2
Spain		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change		EU5		3 m/e May '16	3 m/e May '17	% pt. Change
	Android	92.8	91	-1.8			Android	76.7	79.5	2.8
	iOS	6.9	8.4	1.5			iOS	18.2	18.4	0.2
	Windows	0.2	0.6	0.4			Windows	4.6	1.8	-2.8
	Other	0.1	0	-0.1			Other	0.5	0.3	-0.2

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

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Through continuous monitoring, advanced analytics, and tailored solutions, Kantar Worldpanel inspires successful decisions by brand owners, retailers, market analysts, and government organisations globally.

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For further information, please visit us at www.kantarworldpanel.com.
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Kantar is one of the world's leading data, insight, and consultancy companies. Working together across the whole spectrum of research and consulting disciplines, its specialist brands, employing 30,000 people, provide inspirational insights and business strategies for clients in 100 countries. Kantar is part of WPP, and its services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.

For further information, please visit us at www.kantar.com
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