Android’s market share in urban China in Q1 increased 5.9 percentage points year-on-year to nearly 78 percent as Apple’s iOS share fell 5 points to 21 percent, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
Android had its best year-on-year growth since the three-month period ending October 2014, said Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia.
Smartphone shipments in China managed to rise 2 percent to 102.6 million units in Q1 from a year ago, according to IDC, which expects growth this year to also be at 2 percent as the market becomes increasingly saturated.
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Apple’s shipments in China dropped 19 percent, pushing it to fourth in the rankings. Huawei continued to expand, taking the top spot with a 16.2 percent share (up 5 points from a year ago), according to IDC. Number 2 Oppo saw shipments jump 173 percent, while third place Vivo’s shipments expanded 122 percent.
Huawei’s rapid growth has been driven by the high-end Mate 8 and the value-tier Honor 5X, Timpson said. Oppo, traditionally known as a value-tier brand, has done well in the CNY2,000 segment.
Android’s strong gains weren’t limited to China. Across the EU5 (Great Britain, Germany, France Italy, and Spain), its share moved up 7.1 points to 75.6 percent, while in the US its share increased 7.3 points to 65.5 percent.
