Android smartphones are the biggest selling in the UK, reaching a 50% market share in the UK, while Samsung is quickly closing on Apple as the largest smartphone manufacturer.
According to research conducted by the Kanter Worldpanel ComTech which shows just how the UK market has been treating the mobile industry over the past 12 weeks, Android has managed to sustain its presence as the mobile OS of choice with a 50% market share up from 42.2% the same time last year in the UK. This contrasts to 29.2% for Apple iOS an increase from 19.7%, with RIM in third place with a 15.7% share – a drop from 22.5%.
Despite Android’s current UK dominance however, Apple is still the largest smartphone manufacturer thanks to the success of the iPhone 4S, but it may not be enjoying their lead for much longer though, as rival manufacturer Samsung is just 1% behind the Cupertino-based company.
The portfolio of devices Samsung produce has enabled the company to approach markets relatively untapped by Apple. Aside from their flagship device the Samsung Galaxy S2, which was brought in to tackle the iPhone head on with its impressive spec sheet, interestingly less powerful but cheaper devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Ace have shown greater appeal to the 50+ market with which Samsung have now accumulated 36.6% share to Apple’s 23.4%.
Dominic Sunnebo, from Kanter comments: “It is common to assume that smartphone growth is being driven by a young tech-savvy generation; however, our latest data shows that more than one in two mobiles bought by over 50s in the past 12 weeks were smartphones.”
Over the past 12 weeks, smartphones have accounted for 74.4% of sales pushing the number of users in the UK with a smartphone to 52.2%.
But it’s clear to see that big companies like Apple and Samsung have an ongoing fight on their hands and it’ll take a lot to dislodge them from the top spots, but 2012 is shaping up to be a busy year, with the next iteration of Windows Phone making its appearance, which may well shake things up.
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