Apple’s financials suggest the company’s iPhone business is in a (temporary) nosedive. But new data analyzing the broader smartphone market worldwide proves things aren’t all bad.
Market research firm Kantar Worldpanel said in a report this week that Apple’s iPhone U.S. Shipments in the first quarter grew 1.3 percentage points year-over-year in the second quarter, accounting for 31.8% percent of all sales during the period. Android devices, meanwhile, accounted for 65.5% of all smartphone sales. That’s down a bit from the 66.1% market share Android had last year.
Perhaps more importantly for Apple (AAPL), the company’s iPhone 6s and 6s Plus line was the top-selling smartphone last quarter, accounting for 15.1% of all smartphone sales, Kantar reported. The iPhone topped Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices, which were able to capture 14.1% of the market. Apple’s cheaper and smaller iPhone SE was the third-best-selling smartphone at 5.1% market share.
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The findings are part of a broader market report from Kantar on the state and health of the smartphone industry. Earlier on Wednesday, Coins2Day reported that LG’s cheap yet appealing smartphones are actually gaining ground on Apple and Samsung, accounting for 14% of worldwide sales. LG’s gains have come mainly in the budget-friendly end of the market, where the company’s smartphones stack up well.
While the survey shows that Apple is still popular in the U.S., it stands in stark contrast to the company’s own report on the third-quarter fiscal period ended June 25. Apple reported last month that worldwide iPhone unit sales were down 15% year-over-year to 40.4 million. The company’s iPhone revenue topped $24 billion, but that was down 23% year-over-year.
The difference, it appears, could be attributable to Apple’s international troubles—specifically China. According to Kantar, Apple lost 1.8 percentage points on its Chinese market share in the second quarter, and the company is now behind China-based smartphone manufacturers Huawei and Xiaomi, in terms of overall shipments. The findings follow Apple’s earnings, which showed a year-over-year 33% revenue decline in China during its last-reported quarter.
That said, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are still the best-selling smartphones in China, according to the report.
Another part of Apple’s success worldwide was due to the company’s iPhone SE, a cheap, 4-inch smartphone that launched earlier this year. Analysts and Apple have both said that demand is high, and Kantar’s own checks in countries around the world suggest the same.
Looking ahead, analysts aren’t sure how the iPhone SE might impact the company’s smartphone shipments. Typically, Kantar notes, Apple has a “weaker summer period” as customers wait for the new iPhone that usually launches in September. However, the research firm believes the iPhone SE could bolster Apple’s smartphone unit until it unveils its next flagship smartphone.
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“Sales data shows that 49% of U.S. IPhone owners and 51% of Chinese iPhone owners own an iPhone 5s or older,” the research firm said in the report “This represents a large opportunity to upgrade these consumers to the latest four-inch iPhone.”