Apple's iPhone 5s and 5c leads in Europe, but platform mix rises with Samsung's Galaxy S5 debut

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2014
Despite seeing release some eight months after the iPhone 5s and 5s, Samsung's latest Galaxy S5 flagship is still behind the Apple handsets in Europe, though the Korean company's flagship is taking away customers in key Euro markets.

image


For its first full months of sales in Europe, Samsung's Galaxy S5 came in as the third highest selling handset behind the older iPhone 5s and 5c, according to the latest smartphone sales data statistics from Kantar Worldpanel. The big-five European markets include the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The research firm notes, however, that 17 percent of those who purchased the S5 were previously Apple device users. Existing Samsung customers accounted for 58 percent of S5 sales.

"In general, consumers buying the Galaxy S5 were primarily attracted by its large screen size," said Kantar Worldpanel ComTech strategic insight director Dominic Sunnebo. "This is something Apple is likely to address with the rumoured larger screen iPhone 6 launch expected in late September.

Overall, Android still control the European market with a 73.3 percent marketshare, compared to the 16.6 percent share for iOS and 8.1 percent for Windows. That Android's marketshare is not gaining significantly over iOS suggests platform mix is rising, meaning Samsung and Apple have been trading customers over the past month.

Europe's results contrast those of the U.S., where the Galaxy S5 was the second highest selling smartphone in May. Over the past three months, Apple's iPhone 5s remained the top-selling the device, but Samsung took the top spot in overall brand sales with 36.8 percent of the market versus 32.5 percent for Apple.

Apple is widely expected to launch a next-generation "iPhone 6" with two screen sizes, a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch version. With the rumored upcoming iPhones, Apple is encroaching on Samsung's space by fielding a so-called "phablet" device, though it remains unclear how popular a large-screen iPhone will be.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    mejsricmejsric Posts: 152member
    iPhone 5s and 5c leads and Samsung's Galaxy S5 came in as the third highest selling handset but only 16.6 percent share for iOS.

    Wonder how many Android phones flooding for Android 73.3 percent marketshare.
  • Reply 2 of 24
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Apple is widely expected to launch a next-generation "iPhone 6" with two screen sizes, a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch version.

    I certainly hope they also will sell a 4" iPhone as I'm not in the market for a larger one. Yes, with the same 2014 HW additions, not a 5s with 'simply a new CPU'
  • Reply 3 of 24
    Story and headline all about Apple iPhone 5s and 5c and Samsung S5. But lame photo of unannounced/mock-up products that aren't the focus of the story. Thanks, AI. /s.
  • Reply 4 of 24
    davewritedavewrite Posts: 64member
    Can't comment on European numbers as I don't have info.

    But recent articles on the web have shown that iOS INSTALLED base is closer than people think or sales suggest. In the I/O conference Google said they had an installed base of 1 billion vs the analyst estimate of iOS installed base of 500m to 750m.

    With longer lasting, more expensive products and better OS updates people keep their iOS devices longer or pass them to others when they are upgrading to the next model.
  • Reply 5 of 24
    darkpawdarkpaw Posts: 212member
    "Overall, Android still control the European market with a 73.3 percent marketshare, compared to the 16.6 percent share for iOS and 8.1 percent for Windows."

    Windows has half as much marketshare as iOS? Really?! I doubt it.

    This is only anecdotal evidence on my part, but I've only ever seen two Windows phones in the wild, and one of these was owned by the guy I sat next to at work.
  • Reply 6 of 24
    adybadyb Posts: 205member
    darkpaw wrote: »

    Windows has half as much marketshare as iOS? Really?! I doubt it.

    Certainly not in the UK but Spain, Portugal etc, I don't know!
  • Reply 7 of 24
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    Windows 8.1 has 8.1% of Europe?
  • Reply 8 of 24
    michael scripmichael scrip Posts: 1,916member
    darkpaw wrote: »
    "Overall, Android still control the European market with a 73.3 percent marketshare, compared to the 16.6 percent share for iOS and 8.1 percent for Windows."

    Windows has half as much marketshare as iOS? Really?! I doubt it.

    This is only anecdotal evidence on my part, but I've only ever seen two Windows phones in the wild, and one of these was owned by the guy I sat next to at work.

    I think there were reports that Windows Phone has a high penetration in Europe... driven by low-cost unsubsidized Nokia Windows Phones.

    It varies country to country... depending on a lot of socioeconomic factors.

    Worldwide though... Windows Phone is still a distant 3rd place. I think worldwide it's 80% Android, 15% iOS, 3% Windows Phone.
  • Reply 9 of 24
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Windows does well in the Mediterranean. I don't see anybody with a windows phone who cares much about it.

    I think we are at peak android in Europe. Apple can only win more customers at the high end with larger screens, and it will probably move into the mid range with the 5C. Or something. Then add some iwatch or accessories which can only be used with an iPhone - the kind of addition that works better with vertical markets - and I can see apple growing to 30-40%. As it is in richer countries.

    The trick for Apple is keeping the brand while moving both upmarket with top end phablet and mid market with the 5C/plastic form factor.
  • Reply 10 of 24
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Davewrite View Post



    estimate of iOS installed base of 500m to 750m.

     

    It is REALLY, REALLY hard to guess how many devices are out there...

     

    Just trying to guess how many devices are supported by iOS 7 is daunting... But I'd say they probably sold some 600 million devices so far that are compatible with iOS 7, so it can be safely assumed a vast majority of these devices are still in use. That number does not include those devices that aren't compatible with iOS 7 but are probably still in use. (I still use my iPad 1st Gen. on a daily basis). The 4th Gen. iPod touch sales were fairly close to the iPhone's up until the iPhone 4 was released, so there are probably quite a few of those still in use.

     

    So if I had to take a stab at it, I'd say around 600-650 million iOS devices in use today.

  • Reply 11 of 24
    Are they giving windows phones away for free in Europe? I know of no one here with a windows phone. Some with Android and most with iPhones of different releases.
  • Reply 12 of 24
    Argh! Grammar! Please fix the title of the article to LEAD not leadS...
  • Reply 13 of 24
    tokyojimutokyojimu Posts: 528member
    The new larger screen iPhones should knock the wind out of Galaxy S sails. Almost everyone I know who bought a Galaxy S would have preferred an iPhone but wanted the larger screen.

    People who buy Galaxy Grand, Galaxy Mini, and other such cheaper Samsung lines are those who don't want to spend much money and wouldn't have bought any iPhone.
  • Reply 14 of 24
    maxskbmaxskb Posts: 3member
    The screen might be one reason. One more important reason is Apple's pricing policy. The 32 GB iPhone model in GER is roughly 800 € which is 1093 $, whereas the S5 starts at 555 € and can be upgraded with memory.
    Especially most women oddly enough seem to think that all this is too expensive for phones anyway. But since their men buy the Samsung for the tinkering and price aspects, entire families end up with the Samsung products.
    Since family size and spending money are negatively correlated this trend imo will continue if Apple continues its pricing policy.
  • Reply 15 of 24
    maxskbmaxskb Posts: 3member

    I would like to add that the price differences also has the effect that several cases of small and mid-sized companies which employ friends and family members of mine recently (during last 12 months) switched to android devices (including the administrative software such as google calendar etc.)

    Tech savvy people (nerds) usually run the technical equipment departments and they do not shy away from the buggy android system. They would call it "more flexible". Their advice and the cost factor might have led to this development. 

    Since nobody carries two phones around, this also had the effect that the affected people would also switch to Samsung in private (leaving the Apple ecosystem), and making the whole gang exchange iMessage for Threema or Whatsapp. 

    Still most adult people and also teenagers prefer iPhones and love to use them but with improving products of the competitors (water resistance, design, quality, etc.) for more affordable prices this might not be the case forever. 

    It will be interesting to see if Apple (which imo still makes the better products) is aware and can tackle this.

  • Reply 16 of 24
    boblehbobleh Posts: 34member
    philboogie wrote: »
    I certainly hope they also will sell a 4" iPhone as I'm not in the market for a larger one. Yes, with the same 2014 HW additions, not a 5s with 'simply a new CPU'

    A 2014 portfolio made up of new 4", 4,7" and 5,5" would be sweet and make everyone happy.
  • Reply 17 of 24
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by darkpaw View Post



    "Overall, Android still control the European market with a 73.3 percent marketshare, compared to the 16.6 percent share for iOS and 8.1 percent for Windows."



    Windows has half as much marketshare as iOS? Really?! I doubt it.



    This is only anecdotal evidence on my part, but I've only ever seen two Windows phones in the wild, and one of these was owned by the guy I sat next to at work.

     

    I see a lot of Window Phone devices in London (possibly because they're so brightly coloured). Not many people want a Windows Phone device per se but the Nokia brand is still strong.

     

    Window Phone does best where Nokia loyalty is highest. Check out the stats for Italy, for example.

  • Reply 18 of 24
    rkanagarkanaga Posts: 11member

    Apple is clearly winning against the S5 despite the smaller screen size of the iPhone 5s. To meaningfully increase their market share however in mature markets they need a lower priced phone. Many were disappointed that the 5c was not that device, but to have introduced the 5c at a lower price point last year would have decimated margins and made it harder the sell the 5s, a phone that has and is doing very well.

     

    What Apple needs is a lower priced mid range model to attack market share, while still maintaining a premium model to appeal to their traditional fan base and keep margins up. To do this they need something to differentiate the two ranges,

     

    How about screen size! It all makes perfect sense. With screen size as a differentiater now they can afford to be more aggressive on the price of the entry level phone(s) without fear of eating into sales of the premium models:

     

    entry level phone: smaller screen to differentiate. ? both in the 5c case as a further difference?

    4"  A6 processor, no touch ID (i.e. iPhone 5c), sold for the same price as last years 4s or less i.e. around $400 for 16Gb

    4" A7  with touch ID, metal etc (iPhone  5s from last year) $550 for 16Gb

     

    premium phones:

    4.7" A8 iPhone 6 $700 32Gb

    5.5" A8 Phablet $$$$$!

     

    IMO a $400 16Gb 5c would be a killer product with which to attack the mid priced Android market! There would be a bit of a jump between the $550 phone and the $700 one but many people would find it hard to resist the bigger screen IMO.

  • Reply 19 of 24
    tooltalktooltalk Posts: 766member

    hate being a nitpick, but he title is a bit misleading: "Apple's iPhone 5s and 5c leads in Europe, but platform mix rises with Samsung's Galaxy S5 debut"

     

    The original KW press release, Galaxy S5 attracts some Apple customers in Europe, on the other hand states:

     

    Quote:

    The latest smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reveals that the new Samsung Galaxy S5 was the third best selling smartphone in Britain during May, lagging behind its older iPhone 5S and 5C rivals.


     

    not in EU5.  Android still accounted for 75% of smartphone OS sales while iOS had only 16.5% in EU5 ending 3-month/May 2014. Apple smartphone sales is higher in Britain:  Android 58.6% vs iOS 29.4% -- definitely not representative of EU5. Then it goes on to state that the overall iPhone to Galaxy conversion rate in the European market:

     

    "... However, among those who did buy the Galaxy S5 across the five largest European markets, 17% switched from Apple. ... "



    The switching rate in Britain is 26% according to a recent Guardian article

     

    "Apple users are losing patience waiting for a larger-screened iPhone. New data showing that 26% of British buyers of Samsung's Galaxy S5 in the three months to the end of May switched from the iPhone - compared to 12% the year before, according to Kantar ComTech's Worldpanel."

     

    So let's stick to either Britain or EU5; it's confusing to parse the article.  

  • Reply 20 of 24
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    "In general, consumers buying the Galaxy S5 were primarily attracted by its large screen size,"

    In general, and with a little digging, I've found the only arguement Android flagship buyers have is "it's not Apple" as opposed to any genuine or rational reason (like poorer performance, poor software design, getting software later etc.).
Sign In or Register to comment.