Android Sales Strengthen Globally

Smartphones and iPhones have been synonymous in many people’s minds around the world for quite some time now, but things look set to change, as new figures from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reveal that Android-operated mobile devices are enjoying a huge boost in popularity across Europe, the US and Australia.

In fact, Google’s Android now accounts for more than 50% of the market in many large countries, including the UK, where Apple’s main rival holds a 57.2% share. This is a solid 8.5% growth over a period of 12 months, the study finds. Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS rose by 5.4% over the same period, reaching a total share of 25.6%. The third biggest player on the smartphones market – BlackBerry – saw the steepest decline in market share, dropping from 19.3% last year to 10.6% in 2012. Windows Phone 7 has grown 2% since last year and now holds 3.7% of the UK market, figures show.

Elsewhere across Europe the situation is similar, with Apple losing ground in Italy, Germany, France and especially Spain, where iOS has a modest 3.2% market share, compared to Android’s 84.1%. Australia tells the same story overall, with Android’s share soaring to 56.9%, compared to 36.4% 12 months ago.

Apple is still faring well on home soil in the US, where Android sales have fallen from 57% to 50.2% since last year, while iOS sales have grown by 8.7% to 37.4%.