Published: 6 August, 2012
Android lost some growth momentum recently, even prompting speculation from some that it had reached its plateau, but its fortunes are heavily dependent on whether there is a new iPhone around. In Europe, the phenomenon of users waiting for the next iPhone has been sufficiently intense to cancel out some of the sales boom of the iPhone 4S launch - Android gained 65% of the smartphone market in the region in the year to July 2012, according to a new report.
The data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech indicates that Samsung has had a massive 45% of the smartphone space in Europe during the 12 months, with strong 2012 sales of its Galaxy range, especially the new S III, outweighing the late 2011 iPhone launch. Of course, Samsung rolls out a bighitting new model with far greater regularity than its rival, and the strategy, plus massive marketing, is paying off, for a firm which was considered a smartphone also-ran only a couple of years ago.
The research highlights that Samsung sells smartphones across all tiers and user profiles, not just the flagship S family, and in the five largest European markets (the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) it has been the main driver, pushing Android's share from 42.7% in July 2011 to 65.7%. In the UK, for instance, five of the top 10 smartphones sold during the period were from the Korean vendor. The largest market share for Android is in Spain, where it has a huge 87.1%.
Apple's average market share across the big five European markets was 14.4% although its loyalty factor is very high - in the UK 80% of Apple users upgrade to another iPhone.
By contrast, Android is fighting to maintain its momentum in the US, where Apple increased its share from 28.7% to 38.2% over the year, leaving Android with only just over half the space (51.5%) in July 2012. RIM was down to 3.7% in the US but still had 11% in the UK, its best territory, while Windows Phone was strongest in Germany and Italy, where it had almost 5%, but commanded only 2.3% in the US.