Latest data released on Tuesday showed that Apple has reclaimed the first place in the U.S. smartphone market on soaring sales of its new device iPhone 5.
For the past 12 weeks ended on Oct. 28, iPhone 5 sales boosted
Apple to the No. 1 spot in the U.S. market, with handsets running on
Apple's iOS operating system accounting for 48.1 percent of
smartphone sales in the country, according to sales data from market
research company Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
During the same period, sales of smartphones powered by Google' s
Android platform claimed 46.7 percent of the U.S. market.
"The last time we saw iOS overtake Android in the U.S. was when
the iPhone 4S was released and Apple managed to retain its lead for
three consecutive periods," the research company said in its report.
The report pointed out that the iPhone 5 success is built on
consumer loyalty. Around 62 percent of iPhone 5 sales in the U.S.
came from existing iPhone owners upgrading to the new device.
Meanwhile, around 13 percent of new iPhone 5 owners switched from
Android devices and some 6 percent from Blackberry phones.
However, research by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech found that Apple
doesn't have the same success in Europe where Android phones still
take the lead.
The research company noted that Germany is a tough market for
Apple as its market share fell by 5.1 percent over the past year and
Android phones accounted for 73.9 percent of smartphone sales. The
Samsung Galaxy S3, one of iPhone's major competitors, took almost a
quarter of smartphone sales in Germany over the past 12 weeks.
Among the other European countries covered by Kantar Worldpanel
ComTech's research, namely France, Italy, Spain and Britain, iPhone
is enjoying share gains in terms of sales, but cannot catch up with
Android devices.
