New research shows that Apple iOS is growing in popularity in the UK, with its market share growing by 13.1% in the last 12 months. It’s now hot on the heels of rival Android – currently the most popular operating system among UK users.
According to the latest figures published by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple’s market share was 42% between October and December last year – that’s 11% higher than during the previous quarter of 2014.
In contrast, Google saw Android share fall to just 50.5% during the same period. That’s a significant drop from 58.2% of customers choosing Android during the previous three months, and means its lead over iOS is just 8.5%.
That might have something to do with the fact that Apple finally started selling larger screen smartphones last summer. The iPhone 6 was the bestselling phone in the UK during the final three months of the year, capturing an impressive 20% of total sales. Samsung’s Galaxy S5 was a distant second with an 8% share.
Smartphones with 5.5 inch screens or larger are also growing in popularity according to the research. These ‘phablet’ devices accounted for 9% of sales, up from 6% in 2014 and that rise was mainly driven by the launch of the iPhone 6 Plus.
Unfortunately, for Microsoft the sales share of Windows Phones also fell in the UK, dropping down to just 6.6% during the final quarter, which has fallen 3% year-on-year.
Source: Mobile News