Apple has seen a year-on-year drop in its smartphone market share as its rivals continue to make strong gains.
The data, from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, found that LG, Sony and Nokia have made year-on-year share gains which is piling pressure on Apple.
Windows grew 5.3 per cent y-o-y, Android saw a 7.6 per cent increase while IOS dropped 6.5 per cent.
Windows Phone is now the third largest operating system across Europe with 10 per cent – more than double its share compared to last year.
The cheaper alternative to the iPhone 5S, the iPhone 5C, has come under criticism from reviewers who say the phone “doesn‘t feel premium.” However, latest Kantar data for the US shows that the iPhone 5C has a strong average owner recommendation score of 9/10 versus 9.1/10 for the iPhone 5S.
Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, commented: “Both devices attract different customers but crucially each group of owners remains very happy with their choice and are recommending it to others.”
Apple‘s share of smartphone sales surged 14.5 per cent from October 2013 following the launch of the 5S and 5C models. 86 per cent of devices sold in the past three months were smartphones.
Retailer John Lewis said increases in Apple and Google smartphone spending drove a 10.7 per cent increase in sales compared to last year.
