Google’s Android operating system extended its market share lead over Apple in the September quarter despite the launch of the iPhone 6, according to figures released overnight by Kantar Worldpanel.
Android devices now account for 58.1% of all Australian smartphones, up from 55.6% a year earlier, while Apple increased slightly from 32.6% to 34.7%, and Windows slipped from 9.3% to 6.2%.
In terms of market share, Android has now established a significant lead in every major smartphone market globally over Apple, capturing a majority of markets where Apple once held a majority, such as the US and Japan.
In the US, Android leads Apple 61.8% to 32.6%, in China 83.4% to 15.2%, in Japan 64.5% to 31.3%, in the UK 58.2% to 31%, in Germany 79.2% to 11.8%, and France 72.7% to 15.4%.
Apple’s weakest European markets are Italy, where its 10.4% market share sees it trailing both Android on 71.8% and Windows on 15.2%, while in Spain, Apple has just 6.3% of the market compared to 90.4% for Android.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
