Researchers Back Apple’s Strategy – But iPhone Still Trails Android

Fears that the launch of the lower end iPhone 5C could cannibalise sales of the more expensive iPhone 5S and harm Apple’s reputation appear to have been unfounded, according to research from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, which says iOS market share increased during December.

The Cupertino-based company commands a 69.1 percent share in Japan, 42.1 percent in the US, 35 percent in Australia and 30.6 percent in the UK, where smartphone penetration has now reached 69 percent.

Apple 5C gains

“Some people worried that Apple was risking its historically high consumer satisfaction levels by releasing a lower cost, plastic iPhone.  However, the latest data for the US shows that the iPhone 5C has an average owner recommendation score of 9.0/10 versus 9.1/10 for the iPhone 5S,” says Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Both devices attract different customers but crucially each group of owners remains very happy with their choice and are recommending it to others.”

However the gains were not enough to prevent Apple’s market share from decreasing year-on-year as Android benefited from a resurgent LG and Sony, while the success of Nokia cemented Windows Phone’s position as the third largest mobile operating system in Europe with a ten percent share – more than double what it had last year.

In the UK, Android has a 55.7 percent market share, an increase from 51.5 percent in 2012, while iOS’s share shrank from 36.1 percent to 30.6 percent. Windows Phone now commands 10.8 percent, up from 5.1 percent, while struggling BlackBerry’s share tumbled from 6.5 percent to 2.4 percent.

Windows Phone expansion

However Sunnebo believes that despite Microsoft’s success in Europe, it needs to capture either the US or the Chinese market to make a major impact, and believes that despite Android’s dominance in China, the Asian country is a more realistic target.

“You don’t have to conquer China and the US to win in the smartphone market, but you do need success in one of them.  At the moment there are few signs of progress in either country for Windows Phone and momentum needs to be made soon before OS loyalty severely limits the available market.

“China is likely to be the easier and more rewarding target for Windows.  After all, Nokia has a huge existing presence in the market, retains strong customer preference and can sell handsets at the right price to capture the huge numbers of people with relatively modest budgets.  However, with Microsoft soon running the show it’s hard to imagine a change in strategic direction away from the US.”

Last week, it was reported that Samsung is the favoured manufacturer among business customers, ahead of Apple, and Windows Phone, which is less popular than BlackBerry in the enterprise, according to ABI Research.

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