In spite of the dual release of the iPhone 8 and X handsets, iOS – Apple’s proprietary operating system – share fell 0.6 percentage points to 23.9% across the big five European markets in the three months ending November 2017. In the US, iOS now accounts for 39.8% of smartphone use: a drop of 3.8 percentage points.
However, market share in China has overtaken Europe, as Apple now enjoys close to 25% market share in the 1.4 billion-strong country – a 4.6 percentage point increase.
Figures have also been particularly strong in Great Britain, where Apple achieved its highest share in almost three years, reaching 49.4% market share and regaining the top spot from Samsung.
“iPhone X was the best-selling model in Great Britain in November, with a 14.4% share of sales,” explained Dominic Sunnebo, Global Director for Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, but he warned that the phone’s £999 price-tag could diminish the device’s sales momentum in the coming months.
Conversely, the US audience chose the X’s less expensive cousins, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in stronger numbers. However, Apple’s three 2017 releases occupied the top three best-seller spots in November.
East Asia was particularly fruitful for Apple’s new flagship device. In Japan, the iPhone X reached an 18.2% market share, with the 8 following closely on 17.2%. In urban China also, the near-bezelless phone’s impact has been “staggering” said Sunnebo.
“Apple is now back on form – the iPhone X was the top selling model in urban China in November, with a market share of 6.0%.
“Unlike in Europe and the US, where the vast majority of early iPhone X sales came from existing Apple smartphone owners, in urban China there are significant numbers of Huawei, Xiaomi and Samsung customers switching to the new iPhone models, which they deem a cut above the rest.”
Sourced from Kantar Worldpanel; additional content by WARC staff