Half of All U.S. Smartphone Sales Are iPhones

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

According to a report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the Apple iPhone now accounts for 53.3 percent of smartphones sold in the U.S. In Europe and developing markets, Samsung’s Android phones continue to dominate.

CNET’s Lance Whitney reported, “Apple has scored a victory in the U.S. with its biggest market share ever, according to data out today from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Looking at the 12 weeks ending November 25, the research firm pegged Apple’s U.S. smartphone share at 53.3 percent, thanks in part to strong sales of the iPhone 5. That number was up from 35.8 percent a year prior. And it’s likely to grow. ‘Apple has reached a major milestone in the U.S. by passing the 50 percent share mark for the first time, with further gains expected to be made during December,’ Dominic Sunnebo, Kantar’s global consumer insight director, said in a statement.”

The Register’s Rik Myslewski noted, “In the U.S., sales of iOS-based phones – Apple currently offers the iPhone 5, 4S, and 4 – grew a healthy 17.5 percent from the 2011 period to the 2012 period, rising to 53.3 percent of all U.S. smartphone sales. This bump was no doubt helped by the arrival of the iPhone 5, which was available during nine weeks of the 2012 survey period. Android sales in the U.S., on the other hand, dropped by 10.9 percent to 41.9 percent. RIM’s BlackBerry phones also lost sales share to Apple, dropping from 7.0 percent in the 2011 period to a mere 1.4 percent in 2012.”

TechCrunch’s Ingrid Lunden observed, “The picture, however, is not as rosy for the iPhone in Europe. Overall, Android is now at its highest-ever percentage of sales, with the various OEMs that make phones based on Google’s platform now accounting for 61% of all smartphone sales in Europe’s top five mobile markets. Apple, in contrast, is at just over 25%. That charge continues to be led by Samsung. The Korean handset maker’s Galaxy line of devices accounted for 44% of all smartphone sales across the European big-five of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain — meaning that, even comparing brand-to-brand, it’s doing better than Apple.”

Nathan Eddy from eWeek added, “The report also touched on Windows sales in the U.S., which remain subdued, and Nokia’s attempts to claw back some of its share in Great Britain through well priced Lumia 800 and 610 prepay deals. ‘The next period will prove crucial in revealing initial consumer reactions to the Nokia 920 and HTC Windows 8X devices,’ Sunnebo said.”