iPhone 6 Gives Apple a Huge Jump in Sales Share

KanTar Worldpanel ComTech reports that the iPhone 6 has given Apple a huge jump in sales share across major markets. The company recently released its sales data for the three months ending October 2014.

Apple's share of British smartphone sales are up 10.4% and Apple now account for 39.5% of British sales, its highest level ever. Across Europe, sales of Android devices still lead but have fallen 2.5%. Apple's iOS is up 5.7% to 20.7% and Windows is in third with 8.7% of the market.

Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said: “Apple has experienced a huge jump in sales share across almost all major markets thanks to the launch of the iPhone 6. In major European economies, the US and Australia, Apple’s share of sales has risen. This success is particularly evident in Great Britain where Apple now has its highest ever share of sales with 39.5%. Most of these sales were driven by loyal Apple users. Some 86% of British buyers upgraded from an older iPhone model, only 5% switched across from Samsung.”


Kantar broke down some of the reasons British users chose the iPhone 6. The typical early adopter was 16-24 years old (34%) and male (64%). They selected the iPhone 6 for its 4G capability (51%), screen size (49%), and design (45%).

It's estimated that almost a third (31%) of iPhone 6 sales in Great Britain were sold directly through Apple. Notably, the iPhone 6 outsold the 6 Plus by a 4:1 ratio.

Sales in the US
In the US, Apple sales rose by a more modest 0.7% in the three months ending October 2014 versus the same period a year ago. Verizon (42.2%) and AT&T (41.4%) took an almost equal share of iPhone 6 sales, but AT&T held an impressive 63% share of iPhone 6 Plus sales, showing that it was being favoured on larger screen devices. The iPhone 6 outsold the iPhone 6 Plus by a 3:1 ratio, with 6 Plus buyers tending to be older than iPhone 6 buyers. Overall, iPhones made up four out of the five best-selling models over the past three months.

Sales in China
In China, Apple’s share grew by 0.2 percentage points to 15.7% in the three months ending October, growth driven by the success of the iPhone 6. Both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus became available in China on October 17 and, despite the short availability, the iPhone 6 was the third best selling device in October. However, it is local brand Xiaomi that continues to dominate. Its Xiaomi RedMi Note ‘phablet’ was the top selling model in October, bringing Xiaomi’s share of the market to 29.9% over the past three months.


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