Apple grew its share of smartphone sales in several countries during the first quarter of 2021, driven by demand for its new iPhone 12 series, the latest figures from Kantar show. Android's share has been under pressure due to Huawei's reduced presence, but the Google system continued to add market share in China and Japan in Q1.
In Apple's home market the US, its share rose nearly 5 percent points year-on-year to 45.6 percent of smartphone sales in Q1. All of the top 5 best-selling phones in the US were iPhones, including the iPhone 12, iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2nd generation) and the two iPhone 12 Pro models.
Apple gained the most market share in Germany, with an increase of 8.5 percent points year-on-year to 29.8 percent in Q1. There the iPhone took three of the top five spots, including the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Despite the lower overall share for Android, Samsung's early launch of its Galaxy S21 series in January helped it add market share. According to Kantar, Samsung's share was up on an annual basis in Great Britain (+4.7% pts), Italy (+3.6% pts), France (+2.3% pts) and Spain (+1.6% pts).
At the same time, Chinese brands continued to perform well in European markets; at least 1 in 4 smartphones sold in Italy are Xiaomi (up 4% pts YoY) and it also took 36.7 percent of smartphone sales in Spain. Oppo also reached a 5 percent share in Spain and Italy.
In Japan, Android's share grew to 57.4 percent of smartphones sold, thanks to the launch of Sharp’s Aquos Sense 4 series. Nevertheless, the iPhone SE (2nd generation) remained the top-selling model.
Kantar also reported more consumers citing 5G capability as a reason for buying a phone compared to a year ago. Over the next six months, smartphone purchasing intentions range from 13 percent of existing users in France to 20 percent in Italy.
