The HTC One smartphone
Android’s dominance of the smartphone world is set to be cemented by the arrival of the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has reported that Android is No 1 in the UK, with 58.4pc of the smartphone market.
Kantar reported that iOS remains No 2 in the UK, but its share has declined by 1.4pc to 28.9pc of the UK smartphone market.
Windows Phone is on the up by 2.9pc year-on-year and now has 7pc of the UK market.
“Android is the top-selling OS across key global markets, only beaten by iOS in Japan and now accounting for 93.5pc of the Spanish market,” said Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar.
“We expect to see a further spike in its share in the coming months, as sales from the HTC One start coming through and the Samsung Galaxy S4 is launched.
“This will pile pressure on Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia to keep their products front of consumers’ minds in the midst of a Samsung and HTC marketing blitz,” Sunnebo said.
Top 10 best-selling phones in the UK
Samsung and Apple continue to dominate the top 10 best-selling smartphones in the UK, with the LG Google Nexus 4 and BlackBerry Curve 9320 the only other individual brand models featuring.
In the last three months to March 2013, smartphone penetration in Britain remained at 63pc, with smartphones making up 84pc of mobile sales.
“Samsung already accounts for half of the 10 best-selling smartphones in Britain and much has been said in the past about Samsung’s strong distribution, but it is clear that one of the key drivers of Samsung’s performance is how targeted each device is.
“Kantar Worldpanel ComTech data clearly shows that different Samsung models are appealing to a very different type of consumer. The Galaxy Note II is popular with affluent 25-34-year-old males, the Galaxy SIII Mini appeals to younger females, the Galaxy Ace to older females while the Galaxy SIII has broad appeal.
“The fact that Samsung has so many models available in the market is not indicative of a scatter gun approach, simply a realisation that different consumers demand very different handsets, both in functionality, design and price,” Sunnebo said.
