Apple’s share of UK smartphone sales soared to a record 39.5 percent in the three months to October, thanks to the iPhone 6 launch, according to Kantar WorldPanel Comtech. This compares to a 28.7 percent market share for iOS in the three months to October 2013. Some 86 percent of iPhone 6 buyers in the UK upgraded from an older model, with only 5 percent switching from Samsung. Early adopters of the iPhone 6 are typically aged 16 to 24 (34% of sales) and male (64%). Some 31 percent of iPhone 6 sales were made directly through the company’s retail offer. The iPhone 6 outsold the iPhone 6 Plus by a ratio of four to one.
Android phones accounted for 52.3 percent of sales in the three months to October, down on 55.6 percent in the year-earlier period. Windows phone had a 7.7 percent share of sales, down on 11.9 percent, and BlackBerry a 0.3 percent share, compared to 3.3 percent a year earlier. Apple’s share of sales rose in major European markets, the US and Australia. The company's share rose by 5.7 percentage points in a year to 20.7 percent in the big five European countries, where Android sales led with 69.4 percent and Windows had 8.7 percent.
