U.S. iPhone Sales Overtake Android Sales by Slim Margin in Q4 2014 with iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Launch

[MacRumors]

For the first time since 2012, sales of Apple's iPhone overtook sales of Android devices by a slight margin during the October to December 2014 period in the United States, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel (via TechCrunch). Apple's iPhone took a 47.7% sales share of the U.S. smartphone market while Android accounted for 47.6%, with Windows Phone accounting for 3.8% of sales.

In the US, Apple iOS overtook Android for the first time since this time in 2012, albeit by the slimmest 0.1% margin," reported Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. "While the success of the iPhone 6 and 6Plus is unprecedented, this quarter's performance also points to Apple having its strongest portfolio ever. With a range of devices available at different price points in both contract and pre-pay Apple was able to take advantage of a weaker Android offering at the premium end of the market.

Kantar also notes that the iPhone 6 was the best selling smartphone in the United States, and that the iPhone's market share rose 6.2% in Europe during the holiday quarter. By comparison, Android's share declined 3.8% overall in Europe, as Italy was the only country to experience market share growth. In China, Apple grew 2.2% to claim a 21.5% market share, with the growth attributed to the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

During the company's earnings call last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus brought more Android switchers and new customers than prior models. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sold a record 74.5 million units during the holiday quarter, with a 46% growth when compared to last year and Apple's launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

Article Link: U.S. iPhone Sales Overtake Android Sales by Slim Margin in Q4 2014 with iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Launch

 

[OllyW]

That a big leap for the iPhone in the UK.

 

[newagemac]

That's absolutely crazy numbers for a single manufacturer compared to everybody else combined. I guess when you make great products and back it up with awesome support, people will keep coming back. No matter what all the trolls on this forum try and say. You'll see them posting below doing damage control, just laugh and move on...

 

[Nimrad]

% pt change:
-3.8 - Android
3.8 - iPhone
-0.4 - Windows
-0.3 - Other
Something doesn't add up..?

 

[OllyW]

% pt change:
-3.8 - Android
3.8 - iPhone
-0.4 - Windows
-0.3 - Other
Something doesn't add up..?

The Android figure should be -3.1%.

 

[Oletros]

Impressive numbers.

Now wait to next quarter to see if it is a trend or just a seasonal spike

 

[Michael Scrip]

Impressive numbers.

Now wait to next quarter to see if it is a trend or just a seasonal spike

The December quarter is when Apple sells the most iPhones... so there's always a seasonal spike.

But people seem to like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus... and people buy iPhones all year long.

So I'm fairly confident next quarter will the best March quarter ever too.

After that? Who knows. Apple's gotta hit the wall sometime. It just hasn't happened yet.

Every year Apple sells more iPhones than the previous year. It will be interesting to see what happens when they don't!

 

[ebouwman]

Pretty surprising...

As long as Apple and Android are about equal in sales I think I'll be happy. I don't want to see Apple fail but I also don't want to see android get crushed. I don't want to bring up the competition thing... but android really does help push innovation in the market.

 

[thekeyring]

Looks like a cheap phone wasn't the answer, after all.

 

[samcraig]

That's absolutely crazy numbers for a single manufacturer compared to everybody else combined. I guess when you make great products and back it up with awesome support, people will keep coming back. No matter what all the trolls on this forum try and say. You'll see them posting below doing damage control, just laugh and move on...

Looks like a cheap phone wasn't the answer, after all.

Well it looks like (to me) that Apple was able to retain current customers and attracts new ones based on a few factors - one of the biggest being the larger screen. For many (enough) - this was a reason to jump to an Android device. And for those on the fence as to which to buy, made the "battle ground" more even.

 

[SPUY767]

It still irritates me that we refer to Android Sales as though they mean anything.

The December quarter is when Apple sells the most iPhones... so there's always a seasonal spike.

This is true of every manufacturer. It's called the holiday shopping season.

 

[2457282]

Looking at the original article the only place where iOS showed a small loss was in Japan. But also interesting is that windows is still in the single figures (except in France). And everything else is a tiny number in the other category. It truly has become a two horse race. BB, Opera, Firefox, Symbian - where are you guys? The question now is if MSFT can get enough traction to make it a three horse race.

 

[sofila]

Looking at the original article the only place where iOS showed a small loss was in Japan. But also interesting is that windows is still in the single figures (except in France). And everything else is a tiny number in the other category. It truly has become a two horse race. BB, Opera, Firefox, Symbian - where are you guys? The question now is if MSFT can get enough traction to make it a three horse race.

I would like to see MSFT figures growing. They have some good ideas (not only crap) and competition is always good for the customer.

 

[KidAKidB]

And Steve Jobs said that 3.5" was the perfect screen size

----------

It still irritates me that we refer to Android Sales as though they mean anything.



This is true of every manufacturer. It's called the holiday shopping season.

And why would Android sales not mean anything?

As for holiday shopping season, Apple releases the new iPhones just a few months before it, so a lot of people wait to get them for Christmas. So yes, holiday season is a huge boom for Apple sales compared to the rest of the competitors.

 

[technosix]

Impressive numbers.

Now wait to next quarter to see if it is a trend or just a seasonal spike

It will be interesting to see how this averages out over time. It's not surprising that iPhone 6 series sales are so strong, after all Apple deprived us of modern sized displays for nearly three years. Therefore the pent up demand was huge.

Once that's filled, the true demand for iPhones will reveal itself. With Apple their brilliant and very persuasive sales pitch, only time will tell.

 

[Macist]

It's almost as if people were just waiting to buy the bigger iPhones Apple said they didn't want.

 

[mainstreetmark]

Well it looks like (to me) that Apple was able to retain current customers and attracts new ones based on a few factors - one of the biggest being the larger screen. For many (enough) - this was a reason to jump to an Android device. And for those on the fence as to which to buy, made the "battle ground" more even.

Isn't a larger influence to retaining customers "ecosystem loyalty" (or lockin?). I have hundreds of dollars of apps and music which cannot transfer to Android.

I chose Apple, of course, but recently I wonder if i would again, starting from scratch. "Death from a Thousand Cuts". "Lost the Functional High Ground". "My wife's iPad is a brick after iOS8 update".

 

[teslo]

It's almost as if people were just waiting to buy the bigger iPhones Apple said they didn't want.

yes. of the hundreds of millions of iPhone customers since 2007, they have all hated bigger phones. that's why the iPhone has been getting smaller over time.

 

[69Mustang]

That's absolutely crazy numbers for a single manufacturer compared to everybody else combined. I guess when you make great products and back it up with awesome support, people will keep coming back. No matter what all the trolls on this forum try and say. You'll see them posting below doing damage control, just laugh and move on...

Do you wake up angry? Trolls, really? A difference in opinion on interpreting data = troll. Got it. I can come up with a completely different read of the data that will be equally as valid as yours, all the while being an opposing opinion. I can even do it without being derogatory.

Smile man. Go hug somebody.

 

[samcraig]

Isn't a larger influence to retaining customers "ecosystem loyalty" (or lockin?). I have hundreds of dollars of apps and music which cannot transfer to Android.

I chose Apple, of course, but recently I wonder if i would again, starting from scratch. "Death from a Thousand Cuts". "Lost the Functional High Ground". "My wife's iPad is a brick after iOS8 update".

Ecosystem is definitely big. I was referring to those that wanted a bigger screen. I think many held out. I also think many jumped over to Android and one of the biggest reasons was screen size. For work I use an iPhone - but I jumped to Android for the bigger screen (as an example) and also because I just wanted to try something different. I was/am tempted by the larger iPhone now - but there are still things about Android that I simply like better. So that's what's keeping me on Android for my personal phone.

Both OSes are great. It comes down to personal preference.

 

[Glideslope]

IMO, I believe there is also some discontent within the Android community with the ever increasing fragmentation of the OS. This is becoming more apparent as it tries to move to the 64 bit level. The A7 is more responsible for the current state than the iPhone Design itself. A7, A8, A9 all very happy with each other.

Android is facing a 64 bit world with several different chip designers. If Google is not COMPLETELY on top of this, Android could very well become the WIN Vista of the Mobil OS.

 

[tomegun]

Impressive numbers.

Now wait to next quarter to see if it is a trend or just a seasonal spike

You don't have to wait that long for the next article like this, with pie chart and/or graph. It seems like these articles are more common than rumor articles. What is goING on Macrumors?

 

[DakotaGuy]

Pretty surprising...

As long as Apple and Android are about equal in sales I think I'll be happy. I don't want to see Apple fail but I also don't want to see android get crushed. I don't want to bring up the competition thing... but android really does help push innovation in the market.

Apple doesn't have to crush Android, but I'm sure their plan is to take enough marketshare it drives the big players out of the market because they can't make a profit on phones.

If the big players were to pull out Apple could reduce development expenses, lengthen product cycles and increase prices. This would drive profits to unprecedented levels. There would be a lot of happy people on these forums if Apple could drive the big players out of the market and own it all.

If you didn't like the iPhone a few smaller alternatives would exist, but if Apple really wants to own it all they must drive the big competition out of the market.

 

[TallManNY]

And Steve Jobs said that 3.5" was the perfect screen size

----------



And why would Android sales not mean anything?

As for holiday shopping season, Apple releases the new iPhones just a few months before it, so a lot of people wait to get them for Christmas. So yes, holiday season is a huge boom for Apple sales compared to the rest of the competitors.

Two reasons, Android sales are estimates and estimates using data from companies that try to overstate their sales, without actual representing to the actual number.
Second because there are lots of "android smartphones" that are sold in this category but aren't actually ever used as a smartphone. They are cheap and the intention of the person buying them is to be able to make phone calls and sends text messages easily. It is kind of arbitrary to include them in the same category as the iPhone 6 and count them as an equal unit.

 

[ABCDEF-Hex]

Hey, MacRumors

You can stop writing these stories defending Apple now. They can certainly take care of themselves. How about some "rumors" about new products instead of sales charts.