There’s good news for Apple worshipers – Apple is still sweeter than Jelly-Bean-Ice-Cream-Sandwich. A report released yesterday revealed Apple iOS standing at the top spot on the victory stand, beating Android by a margin of 7%. Apple iOS has increased its share of the US market by more than 6% in Q4 2012 compared with the 4th quarter of 2011. It now commands an imposing 51.2% market share, followed by Android at 44.2%. Meanwhile, a techcrunch feature uncovers that Apple is at a highest ever market share of smartphone sales in the US – 53%. Apple has done well to fight back on home turf despite formidable competition. But outside of the domestic market, the situation has changed for the worse.
The Apple supremacy ends with the American borders. Android is going berserk in Europe with a highest ever smartphone sales share of 61%, of which Samsung Galaxy sales account for some 44%. Apple, by contrast, is at just over 25%. Android is also leading the charge in China and Brazil, with 72.2% and 60.7% respectively of all sales made in the last quarter of 2012. The situation is no different in Australia.
Coming back to the US market, the growth in Apple’s market share mainly comes from the decline in Android sales. While Android OS sales are almost static, Android smartphone sales have dropped almost 10% between the last quarters of 2011 and 2012. RIM’s Blackberry is the other major contributor to iOS and iPhone sales spree. RIM’s share dropped nearly 6% to a miniscule 1.1% between the two reporting periods. iOS sales have skyrocketed again since Google launched its Maps for iOS earlier this month.
While consolidating its position in the US market, Apple is feeling the bite from elsewhere. The technology innovator recently cut back on iPhone component orders, prompting critics to speculate low worldwide demand. Android may be having a field day in the rest of the world, but it’s finding Apple to be tougher than nails in the US market.
Imran Anwar
Imran is an ex airforce pilot turned into an entrepreneur and a tech savvy blogger. He loves to write about future tech and hot tech trends. He's also good at social media marketing and ghostwrites books in his spare time. He can be reached at useawriter@gmail.com or Twitter (@UseAnExpert)
